(4/5/09)

BlackBerry To Introduce Apps

Research in Motion is making the ever-more-popular apps available to BlackBerry users.

The application store, which is called BlackBerry App World, has been introduced to the public.

BlackBerry has traditionally been a phone for very business-minded people, but recently the phone has been marketed to the general consumer audience. The introduction of the app store is supposed to help with that.

One drawback of the BlackBerry apps is that they will start at $2.99, which is significantly more expensive than Apple's 99 cent apps.

For the full story, go to BlackBerry.

Google to Offer "Tweet" Ads

The search engine Google has begun offering advertisers units that show their last five "tweets" or status updates.

The first company to take advantage of this new system is Intuit, the maker of the TurboTax program.

Intuit plans to use these Twitter ads as a way to soft sell their product to consumers by simply letting them know that they exist and can answer their questions.

Seth Greenberg, the director of marketing at Intuit, said that they are looking at these ads as more of a "conversational vehicle." Colleen Gatlin, a TurboTax spokeswoman says she looks at them as "enablers," meaning they can connect the people who have questions to those who are able to answer them.

For the full story, go to Google.

Denny's New Promotion

Denny's will be running a new promotion where if a customer brings in a friend and orders a Grand Slam, their friend can get a free Grand Slamwich.

The freebie will take place April 8 between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. and is being marketed to customers as a "random act of kindness."

Ads for the promotion will air during the NCAA basketball championship.

The amount Denny's spent on measured media in 2008 increased 13% from what they spent in 2007, rising from $63 million to $71 million.

For the full story, go to Grand Slamwich.

(4/4/09)

Chicago Office of JWT Closing

After struggling to maintain old clients and attract new ones, JWT, Chicago is planning to close its doors.

The agency had a hard loss in 2007 when its biggest client, Kraft Foods, withdrew its account and put it up for grabs to competitors.

The Chicago office has been in competition with its New York City headquarters for many years.

JWT has had a rich history in Chicago. It was founded in 1891 by Charles E. Raymond and thrived from the beginning with clients such as Ford, Cream of Wheat and Aunt Jemima. The agency is famous for coming up with the Oscar Mayer jingle and Kellogg's Rice Krispies' "Snap, Crackle and Pop."

For the full story, go to JWT, Chicago.

P&G To Change Advertising

Procter & Gamble recently settled a lawsuit with Georgia-Pacific Corp., the maker of Brawny paper towels.

Georgia-Pacific claimed that P&G's new Bounty paper towels are not 25% thicker as advertised.

As a result of the lawsuit, P&G will discontinue all advertising that bears the claim that the new Bounty towels are 25% thicker.

Georgia-Pacific will not receive any compensation and P&G does not have to admit to any wrongdoing.

For the full story, go to Bounty.

E.R. Ends Well

On Thursday, NBC's long-running medical drama 'E.R.' ended its run with strong ratings.

The show, which ended after 15 seasons, aired a one-hour retrospective before the two-hour finale. The retrospective pulled in a 3.5/10 rating and share and the finale had a 6.0/16.

This led NBC to the top spot of the ratings for Thursday.

However, the show's series finale ratings are nothing compared to those of other NBC cornerstones, such as 'Friends,' 'Cheers,' and 'Seinfeld.'

For the full story, go to E.R.

(3/30/09)

Mars About to Launch New Candy

Mars is getting ready to launch its new candy brand, "Fling."

The low-calorie candy will be targeted at women. Its marketing includes suggestive taglines and commercials.

Several of these taglines include "It's not cheating if you don't feel guilty," "Your boyfriend doesn't need to know," and "Pleasure yourself."

"Fling's main competitor will be Hershey's chocolate Bliss candies, which are also aimed at women.

For the full story, go to Fling.

The Problem with iPhone Apps

The iPhone application trend has marketers salivating over getting their brand in the mix.

However, with the rapidly increasing numbers of applications, marketers are having a harder time getting noticed by consumers.

Studies show that only about 1% of applications have any long-term use; the rest are quickly discarded after a few weeks of use.

Bryon Morrison, the president of Ipsh, says that apps should be just a part of a broader marketing scheme.

For the full story, go to iPhone apps.

CIA Using College Students for New Ideas

As the CIA continues its advertising and marketing campaigns for new recruits, it is tapping into young, fresh talent at major universities.

The semester-long CIA Collegiate Marketing Program is currently taking place at the University of Southern California, the University of New Mexico and Michigan State University.

The program basically transforms a business class into a full-fledged ad agency.

Students are separated into groups representing the creative, research, media, PR and non-traditional departments of an agency and work closely with the client (the CIA) to produce new marketing solutions.

For the full story, go to CIA.

Liz Ross Leaves Tribal DDB

Liz Ross, president of U.S. operations and global chief marketing officer, is leaving her post at Tribal DDB.

She has said that it is time for her to move on. She will be leaving next month and the position is not expected to be filled.

She says that although she loves the creative side of the agency world and that she had grown up there, she will be keeping an open mind.

The agency's former CEO Matt Freeman left last summer and Ross's departing is another blow to the company's leadership.

For the full story, go to Liz Ross.

Auto Industry's TV Comeback

Carmakers seem to be making a return to television advertising as Time Warner's Turner channels, which include TNT, TBS and TruTv, are experiencing an increase in automaker ad spending.

Another network said it has noticed marketers making scatter purchases.

Automakers have to get their ads out there to increase sales in the critical upcoming months: April, May and June.

The frequency of many car ads has increased due to the NCAA basketball tournament.

For the full story, go to car ads.

CIA Advertising?

Yup, they are. The Central Intelligence Agency is turning to popular advertising methods such as print ads and radio to boost its recruitment.

These recruiting efforts are creating buzz online, with bloggers writing about the ads they've seen or heard.

The CIA has been sending recruiters to college campuses to promote their work.

They have also been marketing on Facebook.

For the full story, go to CIA ads.

Obama's PR

Recently, President Barack Obama has been everywhere trying to get support for his new stimulus plan.

He appeared on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "60 Minutes" last week. His appearance on "The Tonight Show" was the first for a sitting president.

Analysts say that this effort to be seen on all these programs is also to make him seem more human and allow him to talk to a wider audience.

Obama has obviously been ignoring the old idea that a president being overexposed and getting too much press is a bad thing. Most people think that this tactic seems to be working so far.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135462

New Models of BMW Mini to be Introduced

Despite the declining economy, BMW Mini will be introducing several new models this year.

The number of minis sold jumped 28% in 2008 from 2007. However, through February 2009, their sales had decreased 16%.

This week they will be launching their second-generation convertible.

The company thinks the car will sell well globally, but not as well in the U.S. due to the sliding auto industry. They will be able to target their advertising more easily at a narrower niche audience.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135443

McDonald's Testing New Product

McDonald's is currently in the process of testing out a new product: the Snack Wrap Mac.

This new concoction consists of half a beef patty, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions wrapped in a flour tortilla.

The wrap will be cheaper than a Big Mac at $1.49 and is intended to draw people who want to snack between lunch and dinner.

According to a McDonald's spokesperson, the results of the testing so far have been great.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135459

Delta Plans to Rebrand with Merger

After its $3 billion merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines is making plans to rebrand and change its marketing tactics.

Between January and November of 2008, Delta spent about $61 million on media, whereas Northwest had only spent $10 million during that time.

The airlines merged in October 2008, with Northwest becoming a subsidiary of Delta.

The rebranding process is part of the company's plans to integrate the two airlines.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=135411

Reebok Changes Advertising Account

Reebok has switched its advertising account from McGarryBowen to DDB.

Reebok has been in a downhill slide for the past several years. Its U.S. market share is down to 2% from almost 9% in 2005.

The company's head of global brand marketing, Rich Prenderville, said that they favored DDB because they could sense the agency's passion for creativity and they like their nontraditional thinking.

In their new marketing, they will be focusing on Reebok's traditionally stronger sector: women's fitness.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=135395

Text Hoaxes' Affect on Walmart

On March 18, a text message was passed around in at least 16 states warning women to avoid going to Walmart.

The texts, which were tailored to fit the particular area they were being passed around in, said that if women went to Walmart, they would risk being killed.

The police in many of those states have decided that this is a hoax and it can be traced back to a similar event that took place in 2005 in Tennessee.

This rumor happens to be at a very inconvenient time for Walmart, as they were getting ready for the much-anticipated release of Twilight on midnight of March 21.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135382

Ford Increasing Market Share

Ford Motor Co. is stealing some of the market from General Motors and Chrysler as it's retail-market share increased steadily for four consecutive months through January.

Data shows that in January and February of this year, 19% of consumers who planned on buying a GM car and 15% who planned to purchase a Chrysler or Dodge switched to one of Ford's brands.

Ford has been getting good publicity for not accepting a government handout in these rough economic times. GM and Chrysler both did.

Ford's newest ads are focusing on people who aren't necessarily in the market to buy a car, otherwise known as the "upper purchase funnel" of consumers.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135105

Coca-Cola Pushing Vault Soft Drink

In a very aggressive marketing move, Coca-Cola will be giving away a free sample of their citrus drink Vault for every customer that buys one of PepsiCo's Mountain Dews.

The idea behind the campaign is that once Mountain Dew drinkers taste Vault, they will want to make the switch.

The campaign is being called the "Vault Taste Challenge" and will last through late July.

PepsiCo does not appear to be fazed by this campaign because it believes that its Mountain Dew drinkers are loyal.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135104

Gun Sales Increase

Background checks for firearms sales increased by 42% in November, followed by increases of 24%, 28% and 23% in December, January and February, respectively.

The election of a Democratic president and the ushering in of a Democratic administration may have something to do with this recent increase in firearms as some consumers predict tighter gun control laws.

It can also be attributed to the bad economy. People feel less secure and also see hunting as a way to get some meats cheaper.

Manufacturers and retailers have seen increases in spending on firearms, despite the declining economy and tightening of consumers' pocket books.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135092

Event Marketing Effected by Economy

Spending on event marketing will grow in 2009, but less than it has in the past. 

Last year, there was a growth of 15% from 2007's numbers. This year, analysts are projecting spending to equal about $9.83 billion, only a 10.6% increase from 2008.

L'Oreal Canada has been focusing more on getting to the consumer at the point of purchase: the retailers.

David Rich, a senior VP, said that his agency, George P. Johnson, has not lost any clients and actually may have some new business this year.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135038

Auto Industry Still Suffering

The sagging auto industry is not seeing a bright side any time soon.

It has been estimated that the industry's total sales in February were down 42% from what they were this time last year.

Mike DiGiovanni, an exec at General Motors, said that February was the worst month for the auto industry since 1982.

As a result of this continuing decline in sales, Chrysler is extending its "Employee Pricing Plus Plus" through the end of March, even though it was supposed to end this week.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135014

New Kindle iPhone Application

Kindle is a new e-book reader application that hooks up to the consumer's Amazon account and allows them to read the books they've purchased on their iPhone.

You can not buy books directly from the application yet, but you can by accessing Safari on the iPhone.

The author believes that this new "app" may increase e-book sales on Amazon.

Amazon is not trying to sell the actual Kindle device, but to become the prominent e-book supplier.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135023

Business Lunches Still Holding Their Own

In a time when the declining economy affects pretty much everyone's activities and spending habits, the business lunch for media executives and their prospective clients is still going strong.

Popular restaurants that cater to these power lunches, such as The Four Seasons Grill Room and Patroon, are reporting that the midday traffic is still bustling.

These seem to have replaced client dinners and cocktail hour and the restaurant owners have noticed that the time slot for client lunches seems to have slimmed down to about an an hour and a half.

Media executives note that despite these hard times, there is still money to be made.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135029

Radio is Heard by Young People

A recent study by Nielson in Lexington, Ky., shows that young adults might actually be increasing the amount of time they listen to the radio.

Household that use cell phones as their only source of phone communication, which includes the 18- to 34-year-old age group, listen to about 23 hours of radio a week.

This is significantly lower than the total sample, which included landline-only households. These households represent an older demographic.

Among other information drawn from the study, Nielson found that radio connects with 93% of its market over the age of 12. 

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=135087

Reality Shows Rule the Ratings

Reality TV shows like The Bachelor are drawing in audiences and high ratings as scripted series run reruns.

Reality shows raked in six of the top ten spots in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic the week of February 26 to March 4.

The Bachelor was ranked fifth this week, after its buzzed-about finale and two-night post show. This was its highest rating in five years.

Scripted series will probably enter back into the rankings in the next couple of weeks as new episodes return in March sweeps.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=135084

ABC to Launch Two New Shows

ABC will be introducing two new shows, both of which use the failing economy as a backdrop.

One will star Kelsey Grammar as a Wall Street millionaire who's life is turned around by the troubled economy and who becomes a stay-at-home dad. The other show, "Canned", will revolve around young friends who are fired from their jobs as investment bankers.

"Canned" was passed over the first time it was pitched to ABC, but executives later changed their minds.

The show is mainly about getting fired and how it affects your daily life and your future, which is something that many people can relate to.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=135062

Sleep Aids and Antidepressants Sales Increase

Despite the declining economy, sales of sleep aids and antidepressants have increased, while spending decreased.

It seems as though the possibility of a recession is keeping more people up at night.

In a poll, 31% of respondents admitted to getting less sleep due to worrying about the state of the economy or their own financial situation.

Prescriptions have seen a major decrease in marketing and spending. For example, spending on Ambien CR decreased from $190 million in 2007 to $150 million in 2008.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135037

Target and General Mills Pair Up

General Mills is pairing up with Target to bring customers a special cereal promotion.

The promotion will include old retro designs on the packaging of their best-selling cereals, including Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Trix, and Cocoa Puffs.

They will also be giving away and selling T-shirts with similar designs. If a costumer has five proof of purchase labels, they can get a free T-shirt. 

The company is hoping that these older designs will appeal to the young adult demographic and comfort them during these hard economic times.

The promotion will last about a month, from February 15 to March 21.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=135015

Skittles Launches New Website

The Skittles website was formed by Agency.com and combines links to different sites such as Wikipedia and Facebook to increase interaction with users.

For example, if you click on "chatter," it leads you to Skittles' Twitter page. Clicking on "friends" will take you to their Facebook page.

The new website is very similar to Modernista's online page, which was created a year ago. 

Ricardo Zane, president of Agency.com, admits that parts of the new site were modeled after Modernista's site, but also says that this is the first time it has been done for a consumer product. 

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=134946

General Motors Cuts Marketing Spending

The car manufacturer plans to cut marketing spending in North America by $800 million in 2009 as the economy and auto industry continue their downward spiral.

This marketing cut will also include vehicle incentive spending.

In 2008, GM recorded a net loss of $30.9 billion worldwide, with $9.6 billion of that loss being in the fourth quarter.

Although the automaker lost profits in all four of its worldwide regions, the biggest losses were in North America.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=134895

Old Navy introduces new Ad Campaign

This spring, Old Navy will unveil a new campaign featuring several different mannequins, or "SuperModelquins." The campaign will follow the everyday lives of these plastic figures.

The campaign was created and is led by ad agency Crispin, whose other clients include Burger King, Coke Zero and Volkswagen. 

After an ill-rated campaign last spring, Old Navy is hoping this new campaign will appeal to its target demographic, 25- to 35-year-old females.

The ads will focus on promoting the brand's low prices, while constantly thinking about its core consumers. 

The campaign will also make serious use of the Internet, using webisodes and probably Facebook and Twitter.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=134886

Kellogg's Reputation at Stake

According to Vanno, a website that follows about 5,500 companies and people's opinions of them, Kellogg's reputation with consumers has been damaged since firing Michael Phelps.

Vanno uses "gossip, news, opinion and personal insight about companies and their reputations" gathered from consumers to rank businesses. 

Before the peanut butter recall and dismissal of Phelps, Kellogg was ranked No. 9. After the peanut butter debacle, they only fell to No. 16; however, after dropping Phelps, they sank to No. 68. 

Phelps was dismissed from representing Kellogg after photos of him smoking pot were released.

Most of this negative press seems to be associated with the "stoner community."

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=134888

Consumer Spending and Confidence Decreases

As the economy continues its current recession, more and more companies are recording low sales.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index decreased to 25, its lowest level since it started recording in 1967. In comparison, at this time last year the level was at 76. The benchmark is 100.

The future is not looking too bright either. Consumer confidence is not expected to increase any time soon. Consumers are now being very careful with their spending and only paying for necessities.

Due to this low confidence level, retailers are reporting very dismal fourth quarter sales. For example, Nordstrom recorded a 68% drop in fourth quarter profits. 

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=134844

Consumer Spending Driven by Marketers' Predictions

Germany's primary data on consumer and marketing behavior has been released and several unexpected things have been found.

Marketers may unwittingly be riling up consumers and leading them to spend less money. They seem to have already foreseen an economic and marketing crisis and are spending accordingly.

It also appears that brands are being more careful with their spending than discounting companies. 

In a study done by Handelsblatt, it appears that marketing spending is being driven more by internal decisions rather than consumer behavior.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/globalnews/article?article_id=134854

 

Oscar Ratings Increased

The ratings of the Academy Awards improved this year compared to the 2008 show. The average total viewers increased by 13% with 36.3 million people watching the telecast.

Last year, the Oscars had its worst performance ever, only raking in 32.09 million viewers.

This year's performance was an improvement, but it was still the third lowest-rated Academy Awards show.

The "Barbara Walters Special" and "Oscar's Red Carpet 2009 pre-show" may have contributed to these high ratings, being up 66% and 48% respectively from last year in the target demographic.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=134822

Miller High Life's Sales Increase

The week after this year's Super Bowl, sales of Miller High Life increased by 8.6% compared to the same time last year.

Sales were also up almost 5% in the week preceding the game.

The brewer had several one-second ads that aired during the Super Bowl. The company claimed that it was ridiculous to be spending millions of dollars for a 30-second spot in such a bad economy.

This drew attention to these clipped ads that also ran online. They feature the now-famous beer truck driver yelling the words "High Life."

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=134792

Social Networks' Demographic Age Increases

Social networks like Facebook and MySpace are attracting older demographics as the younger markets diminish.

Facebook has almost 52 million U.S. users as it moves toward an older audience. Currently, the largest demographic on both Facebook and MySpace is the 35-44 age group.

As the networks continue to grow, their younger demographics are deflating and there is not much room left to grow there. 

Despite sharing Facebook with older adults, the college audience still votes it the most popular website on campus, according to an Anderson Analytics poll. 

Due to this older demographic now being on these social sites, marketers have larger budgets to work with sites like Facebook.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=134745

Some Advertisers Bail Out of the Oscars

This year's Academy Awards may have some of the lowest television ratings in the history of the awards ceremony.

As a result, some advertisers are pulling their ads from the telecast. Hyundai Motor America is taking General Motor's usual spot and L'Oreal, who has been advertising during the show for the last five years, has pulled out.

The movies that are up for best picture were very weak at the box office, which traditionally has led to lower ratings and less viewers. The combined domestic gross of this year's nominees was less than $275 million. In comparison, 1998's best picture nominees grossed (domestically) $996 million.

Some argue that the movies have nothing to do with the lack of advertising, but that it is the failing economy that is leading advertisers to cut their ads.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=134752

McDonald's Appearance on 30 Rock Was Not Paid For

When McDonald's and the McFlurry made appearances on a recent episode of NBC's 30 Rock, most people thought it was shameless product placement.

The fast food chain also ran an ad during the episode, which made it appear even more as though its appearance in the script had been paid for.

However, the restaurant and its product were actually written into the script and were not paid for by McDonald's. In the story line, two characters have an argument at a McDonald's establishment. Part of the episode was actually filmed in a McDonald's restaurant.

30 Rock is known for poking fun at the product placement the show is involved in and including it in story lines.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/adages/post?article_id=134689

New CBS Show May Start Trend

The new CBS show, "Harper's Island," may begin a new trend in television. CBS has ordered only 13 episodes of the program and plans to start airing them in April and continue through the summer.

Network producers and advertisers are hoping this kind of schedule will entice viewers to continue watching telecasts through what is usually considered the slowest season of TV viewing.

Normally, the time between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July means a major decrease in viewers.

CBS has taken the unusual measure to not only tell potential viewers when "Harper's Island" begins, but also when it ends. The network is also using online tactics to attract viewers to this new format.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=134739

Out-of-work Copywriter Reinvents the Blog

After Erik Proulx was laid off from Arnold, Boston, he needed a place to vent about his continuing employment woes.

He turned to a blog and soon came up with the idea to transform it into a place where unemployed advertising professionals could link up with agencies that were looking for new employees.

Although the site, Please Feed the Animals, is still currently a blog, Proulx plans to launch it into the networking site by mid-April. It will be free to join and free for agencies to search.

Signed on to help out is web developer Skookum. They will be doing about $30,000-$40,000 worth of work pro bono.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/talentworks/article?article_id=134693

Minneapolis Police to Run Campaign to Change Image

The police force of Minneapolis wanted to improve their image in the community and increase their minority recruitment to better reflect that neighborhood.

They turned to local firm Kazoo Branding to help them make the modifications.

These changes included a new slogan, "To protect with courage, to serve with compassion," and the tagline "Be looked up to." These were put on recruiting posters and supplied at local universities, colleges, job fairs, churches, etc. to increase recruitment.

They also changed the design of the patrol cars to a more traditional look and included the slogan on them.

Ultimately, the campaign was very successful because this year's recruiting class was 50% minority, which is the highest rate in department history.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=134748

Music Branding is Taking Over

This article discusses the history of music branding and how pervasive it has become in today's society.

Technology is constantly changing the role music plays in the branding process. With each new invention, music becomes more and more invasive in consumers' lives.

One example the article discusses is the new National Guard campaign that uses Kid Rock's performance of his song "Warrior" to appeal to the young adult demographic.

The article says that music is such a good branding tactic because it can appeal to people's emotions, which ultimately leads to purchases. It can also be targeted at a very specific demographic.

For the full story, go to http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=134684