Sampling..Product Placement......Buzz Marketing at its best.

G N' R delivered the rock, now Dr Pepper has to deliver the pop.

Earlier this year, Dr Pepper promised to give one can of soda to every American if Guns N' Roses delivered its latest album, "Chinese Democracy." It seemed a safe bet to observers at the time. The album had been so long in the making (17 years) that it was more a punch line than a realistic expectation.

Now, it's official. The album will be released at the end of November, meaning Dr Pepper's promise is coming due. The event is already garnering plenty of buzz for both the band and the soda.

Then again, from a business point of view, the deal raises as many questions as it answers. The album is being released exclusively at Best Buy on Nov. 23. Dr Pepper just happens to have 23 magical flavors. Further, PR shop Ketchum also represents both Best Buy and Dr Pepper.

Numerous calls to Dr Pepper were unreturned. Ketchum directed calls to its client.

Time to honor pledge
"We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, VP-marketing at Dr Pepper, said in a statement. "But now that it's here all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."

Dr Pepper plans to give out the soda through a couponing strategy. Consumers will need to register at the brand's website for a coupon that can then be redeemed at any retailer that sells Dr Pepper. The coupons, which are limited to one per person, will only be available for 24 hours beginning after midnight on Nov. 23. A back-of-the-napkin equation would put 300 million cans of soda (which wholesales in the range of 55 cents a pop) at about $165 million.

But most figure the soda company hasn't taken a huge risk as it's unlikely the overwhelming majority of Americans will be logging on during the 24-hour time window. "To be honest, when I saw it, I thought it was a safe bet," said Patrick West, VP-experiential marketing at Zoom Media & Marketing, explaining that he didn't think the album would actually come out. "I expect they will get a healthy return, in terms of total numbers redeemed. This stunt has a lot of legs behind it. But it's really risky, if only because of the cost of your goods. Obviously that's a bet Dr Pepper is willing to make."

Couponing and sampling experts said that the company could eventually shell out several million dollars in free soda, given the press the challenge has attracted. But Dr Pepper has fewer opportunities for incremental purchases. Similar stunts, such as Taco Bell's free-taco offer tied to the World Series, most often lead to additional purchases, such as a high-margin fountain soda, for example. Last year it was estimated that the fast-food chain spent $5.6 million advertising the promotion, while the giveaway itself cost under $1 million and generated priceless publicity. The stunt was successful enough that Taco Bell is repeating it this year.

Will freebies inspire loyalty?
"The publicity is worth a lot, no doubt about it. You have to measure it against the value of the PR," said Bob Goldin, executive-VP at Technomic. "Will it do anything to build loyalty, you've got to wonder. Those things generally don't, in my opinion. Consumers will feel good about the company for the time it takes them to drink the soda."

Wes Brown, a partner at consumer-research consulting firm Iceology, thinks the promotion will lead to some sort of loyalty among consumers, however. "Dr Pepper could ultimately build some loyalty and some brand consideration out of this," he said. "Because consumers will look at this as a brand that went out on a ledge and is sticking to their guns no matter what it ends up costing them [dollar wise]."

Others say that the association with Axl Rose, especially when Dr Pepper is increasingly relying on music to market its brand, could prove invaluable.

"If you play it right, you could end up building even more PR," Mr. Brown said. "You can make fun of it and say, 'We got them to do in six months what has taken them 15 years to do' or that 'All music fans should be thanking us.' And ultimately, as long as Guns N' Roses doesn't get too upset, you could make a little campaign out of it that will continue to keep the brand in the forefront."

After all, chances are slim Dr Pepper would have been able to ink any sort of formal deal with Axl Rose.

"The brand association with Guns N' Roses and Axl Rose might be something that they would have had to pay infinitely more for than they ever could have afforded," said Mr. West.

Band with a long past
Then again, others might point out that Guns N' Roses, which hasn't been heard from since last century, comes with plenty of baggage, including its frontman. Axl Rose, after all, hasn't exactly aged as gracefully as Mick Jagger.

Ultimately, the promotion will work double-time for them, pointed out Dean Crutchfield, a brand consultant. He said that it is a good way for the company to re-engage with an older audience, maintain its core fans and introduce the brand to new consumers. "What I like about this, at the end of the day, is they are riding two horses at one time, and that's what's important and unique here for Dr Pepper," he said. "In branding, they say you're looking for more users, new users or new uses. Clearly they are not going to get new uses, but they are certainly aiming for new users. This is a smart deal that will get them a lot of publicity, depending on the amount of publicity that Guns N' Roses will get. That will be the acid test."

Product Placement, Sampling, and Word-of-Mouth Collectively Influence Consumer Purchases

Product Placement, Sampling, and Word-of-Mouth Collectively Influence Consumer Purchases

Product Placement, Sampling, and Word-of-Mouth Collectively Influence Consumer Purchases

According to BIGresearch's Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM12), the effectiveness of product placements varies by product category and consumer group. Consumers indicate product placements have the most influence on their grocery purchases with 14.8% saying so, up from 13.0% one year ago. Electronics and apparel round out the top three categories most influenced by product placements.

As marketers search for ways to increase marketing ROI, product placements are a viable option, says the report, particularly when targeting specific ethnic groups. African American, Hispanic and Asian consumers are more likely to be influenced to buy electronics, grocery and apparel from product placements.??

Influence of Product Placement On Purchases by Product Category & Ethnic Group (% of Respondents)??
	All	White / Caucasian	African American	Asian	Hispanic?
Grocery	14.8%	14.6%	16.9%	15.3%	16.7%
Electronics	13.2%	11.5%	20.2%	18.0%	18.3%?
Apparel	11.5%	10.4%	15.0%	17.0%	16.9%?
Home Improvement	7.9%	7.1%	11.2%	10.2%	9.9%?
Eating Out	7.6%	6.8%	10.3%	10.0%	10.3%??
Source: BIGresearch, October 2008

Gary Drenik, President & CEO of BIGreserch, concludes "Though the use of product placements is growing... today's savvy consumers... recognize when advertisers are trying to manipulate them... when executed effectively, product placements can... create highly influential word of mouth among specific consumer groups."?

45.8% of Caucasian, and 44.0% of Asian consumers, indicate their purchases are influenced by word of mouth. 41.1% of African American consumers say the same when it comes to grocery. Dining out purchases appear to be most affected by word of mouth.

Influence of Word of Mouth On Purchases by Product Category & Ethnic Group (% of Respondents)?
	All	White /Caucasian	African American	Asian	Hispanic?
Eating Out	52.9%	56.2%	45.8%	43.5%	44.1%
Electronics	44.4%	45.8%	42.2%	44.0%	40.6%?
Grocery	40.7%	41.5%	41.1%	37.0%	39.1%?
Home Improvement	35.2%	37.2%	29.3%	31.8%	31.6%?
Apparel	34.3%	33.3%	38.6%	37.2%	37.5%?
Source: BIGresearch SIMM12, October 2008

And, while placement and word of mouth impact future purchases, sampling can create an almost immediate impulse purchase. According to the Product Sampling Study by Arbitron, sampling successfully reaches 70 million consumers every quarter, and one-third of customers who try a sample will buy the sampled product in the same shopping trip, and 58% of those surveyed reported that they would buy the product again.

In the study, consumers were grouped into three categories:

• "Acquisitions" are those who were new to the sampled product
• "Conversions" are those who had heard of the product but had never bought it
• "Retentions" are those who had previously purchased the product

While 85% of the Retentions and 60% of the Conversions said they would purchase the sampled product in the future, sampled products encouraged 47% of the Acquisitions, those who had never heard of the product before, to purchase the product again.

Carol Edwards, Senior Vice President, Sales, Out-of-Home Media, says "... this study enforced that the sampling approach is both effective in making new customers aware of products, while also establishing a firmer identity with those consumers who have considered the product before."

Highlights of the study:

• 28% of those surveyed reported that they have been offered product samples within the past three months
• 64% of those surveyed claimed they had accepted product samples. 66% of the customers characterized as Acquisitions accepted samples, as well as 63% of the Conversions, and 63% of the Retentions
• 35% of those surveyed claimed they purchased the sampled product on the same day. 26% of the Acquisitions bought the product right away, as well as 19% of the Conversions, and 31% of the Retentions
• 24% of those surveyed claimed that a sampled product had specifically replaced an item that they had planned on buying. 20% of the Acquisitions were planning to make the switch, as well as 33% of the Conversions, and 18% of the Retentions.

Why Get Leads If Nobody's Buying?

AMERICANS ARE IN THE MIDST of a slow-motion economic panic as banks, insurance companies and jobs disappear before our eyes. The numbers show how consumer spending continues to decline as confidence wanes. And marketing budgets are being slashed. What works in this ugly climate?

In past recessions, marketing spending usually moved from image advertising to "below the line" sales promotion. The thinking assumed that it was better to take a short-term pricing hit and live to fight another day. In recent downturns, many incorporated direct marketing in additional to promotion, because it asked for the order in a quantifiable way.

Now we face a shrinking economy already knowing that online direct marketing - lead gen in particular - has become a marketer's most efficient tool. But many marketers are asking how they are going to get a return on their online ad investment if the demand side is drying up. At first impression, that looks like a reasonable fear. Consumers are already cutting their discretionary spending and avoiding new credit card purchases. And businesses are following suit.

But let's look at why online lead gen may make more sense than ever amidst today's turmoil, and how smart marketers can best take advantage:

Customers are out there, but they are harder to reach: If there are fewer potential customers, it makes sense to pay only for the best prospects, the ones who are really interested. Online cost-per-lead programs make that happen. Traditional CPM-based advertising is nowhere near as effective.

Build a relationship with future customers: Yes, your selling cycle will be longer during the recession. But getting an expression of interest now means beginning a relationship with the potential buyer. Build trust with ongoing communications -- maybe an email newsletter. When that reluctant customer gets ready to buy, he or she will think of you first. Follow-up has always been key to cost-effective conversion. It is absolutely vital now.

Don't assume your old targeting will work as well: Survival now and thriving in the next upturn may well mean finding a new customer base. At least, you'll have to supplement your current list with fresh blood. Attitudes are shifting quickly. Some consumers that loved your product may be turned off now. Others will find your story more attractive than before. Better find out who they are and what they want.

Test how to trigger faster purchase: Marketers who understand lead-gen see the optimization potential. Find out which offers work now and which copy direction to take. In normal times, education might be the best motivation. Today, price or added benefits might do better. It is easy to set up a testing matrix and see what leads to short-term and longer-term sales. Our clients often say that effective online lead gen is an excellent marketing laboratory.

Be real: Don't think business as usual. Let the prospect know you're very much aware of today's economic realities. And it doesn't matter if you're selling products or services that are suddenly out of favor, like investments or luxury goods. Change your copy and your offer to appeal to price/value or demonstrate long-term benefits.

Sponsorship "Jargon" Defined

Activation
Defined by IEG as the marketing activities a company conducts to promote its sponsorship. Money spent on activation is over and above the rights fee paid to the sponsored property. Also known as leverage.

Ambush Marketing
A promotional strategy whereby a non-sponsor attempts to capitalize on the popularity/prestige of a property by giving the false impression that it is a sponsor. Often employed by the competitors of a property’s official sponsors.

Arts Marketing
Promotional strategy linking a company to the visual or performing arts (sponsorship of a symphony concert series, museum exhibit, etc.). See: Sponsorship

Audio Mention
The verbal mention of a sponsor on-site or during a TV or radio broadcast or Web cast.

Brand Name
Name used to distinguish one product from its competitors. It can apply to a single product, an entire product line, or even a company.

Business-to-Business Sponsorship
Programs intended to influence corporate purchase/awareness, as opposed to individual consumers.

Category Exclusivity
The right of a sponsor to be the only company within its product or service category associated with the sponsored property.

Cause Marketing
Promotional strategy that links a company’s sales campaign directly to a nonprofit organization. Generally includes an offer by the sponsor to make a donation to the cause with purchase of its product or service. Unlike philanthropy, money spent on cause marketing is a business expense, not a donation, and is expected to show a return on investment. See: Sponsorship

Co-Op
The sharing of advertising costs between a manufacturer and distributor or dealer.

Core Sponsor
Concept developed by IEG to describe companies whose sponsorships are aligned with internal practices. Rather than using sponsorship as a marketing ploy, Core Sponsors gain loyal customers by living their values. What they sponsor reflects the DNA of their brand. Core Sponsors include Ben & Jerry’s, Harley-Davidson, Patagonia, Timberland, Vans, Virgin and Yoplait.

Core Sports
Term developed by Vans to refer to youth sports that feature individual, rather than team, competition, including: skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, BMX, supercross, and freestyle motocross.

Cosponsors
Sponsors of the same property.

Cost/Benefit Ratio
This is the ratio that IEG has developed based on market pricing to determine the amount of value a sponsor expects for each dollar invested in rights fees.

CPM and CPP
Advertisers use CPM (cost per thousand impressions) and CPP (cost per rating point) to compare media costs.

Cross-Promotions
A joint marketing effort conducted by two or more cosponsors using the sponsored property as the central theme.

Customer Loyalty
The new imperative of marketing. As the marketplace approaches a super-saturation of products–as the power in the marketing equation shifts from product to consumer–brand loyalty disappears. To survive, companies will have to create loyalty relationships with their customers, one customer at a time, according to IEG.

Dealer Tie-in
A manufacturer’s announcement that lists local dealers; not the same as “co-op.”

Demographic Information
Based on the age, gender, life-cycle stage and occupation of consumers, as defined by Amsterdam-based European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research.

Editorial Coverage
Exposure that is generated by media coverage of the sponsored property that includes mention of the sponsor.

Emblem
A graphic symbol unique to a property. See: Mark

Escalator
An annual percentage increase built into the sponsorship fee for multi-year contracts. Escalators are typically tied to inflation.

Event Marketing
Promotional strategy linking a company to an event (sponsorship of a sports competition, festival, etc.). Often used as a synonym for “sponsorship.” The latter term is preferable, however, because not all sponsorships involve an event, per se. See: Sponsorship

Fulfillment
The delivery of benefits promised to the sponsor in the contract.

Gross Rating Point
One percentage point of a specified target audience. Total GRPs for a campaign can be calculated by the formula ‘Reach times average frequency’. This is a measure of the advertising weight delivered by a medium or media within a given time period. A given total of gross rating points may be arrived at by adding together ratings from many different spots. GRPs may, thus, sum to more than 100% of the total target audience.

Hospitality
Hosting key customers, clients, government officials, employees and other VIPs at an event. Usually involves tickets, parking, dining and other amenities, often in a specially designated area, and may include pro-am spots, backstage tours, etc. Synonym: Client Entertainment

Incremental Value Added
A measurement technique IEG uses with corporate clients which compares the return a company earns from sponsorship above and beyond what it would expect from equal investment in other media. For example, if a credit card company is going to conduct a direct mail campaign, its expectation might be to break even. So if the company spent $100,000 to buy lists and print the pieces and pay for the postage and the campaign brought in $100,000 worth of new accounts, the effort would have been considered a success. If it’s $100,000 sponsorship generated $150,000 in new accounts, IVA would be 50 percent. The sponsorship is thus adding incremental economic value.

In-Focus Coverage
Amount of time sponsor identification is visible to TV viewing audience during event broadcast.

In-Kind Sponsorship
Payment (full or partial) of sponsorship fee in goods or services rather than cash.

Licensed Merchandise
Goods produced by a manufacturer (the licensee) who has obtained a license to produce and distribute the official Marks on products such as clothing and souvenirs.

Licensee
Manufacturer which has obtained a license to produce and distribute Licensed Merchandise.

Licensing
Right to use a property’s logos and terminology on products for retail sale. Note: While a sponsor will typically receive the right to include a property’s marks on its packaging and advertising, sponsors are not automatically licensees.

Make-Goods
Free time or space provided to advertisers to make up for a program’s lower than expected ratings or an advertisement insertion that has been missed or has been incorrectly printed or broadcast.

Mark
Any official visual representation of a property, including emblems and mascots.

Marketing Surplus
A theory developed by McKinsey’s David Court, which holds that success is determined not by market share, but by which one of the entities in any transaction–from raw-goods supplier through manufacturer, retailer, and consumer–holds the greatest amount of the surplus or profit made at each step of the process. As the market reaches saturation, marketing surplus moves to the consumer.

Mascot
A graphic illustration of a character, usually a cartoon figure, used to promote the identity of a property.


Media Equivalencies
Measuring the exposure value of a sponsorship by adding up all the coverage it generated and calculating what it would have cost to buy a like amount of ad time or space in those outlets based on media rate cards.

Media Sponsor
Broadcast, online, print, out-of-home and outdoor media that provide either cash, or more frequently advertising time or space, to a property in exchange for official designation, according to IEG.

Minimum Guarantee
A sponsor agrees to pay a specific minimum sum, regardless of the actual result of the program. In cause-related marketing–which raises funds for nonprofits by donating a percent of each sale during the promotional period to the nonprofit–a minimum guarantee means if sales do not trigger the sum anticipated, the company makes up the difference. When the minimum guarantee is also the total sum that will be given to the nonprofit–even if sales would justify more–it should be explained as a “capped minimum guarantee,” according to IEG.

Municipal Marketing
Term coined by IEG to refer to promotional strategy linking a company to community services and activities (sponsorship of parks and recreation programs, libraries, etc.).

Option to Renew
Contractual right to renew a sponsorship on specified terms. See: Right of First Refusal

Pass-Through Rights
Benefits that the property allows a sponsor to transfer to another company. For example, a retail sponsor of a marathon could negotiate pass-through rights to involve vendors in pre-approved categories—e.g., ones that do not compete with marathon sponsors—in its marathon promotions and sponsorship even though the vendors are not sponsors of the marathon. Rights passed-through typically include sampling, hospitality and signage. Almost any sponsor will benefit from having pass-through rights. They can be used to incent on- and off-premise accounts, e.g., exchange sponsorship benefits for more shelf space and a bigger order. Pass-through rights can also be transferred from a sponsor to a property. For example, a media sponsor could allow a property to include advertising in its sponsorship package in pre-approved categories. IEG advises clients to carefully define the companies and categories to which the partner is able to give pass-through rights.

Perimeter Advertising
Stationary advertising around the perimeter of an arena or event site, often reserved for sponsors.

Philanthropy
Support for a nonprofit property where no commercial advantage is expected. Synonym: Patronage

Premiums
Souvenir merchandise, produced to promote a sponsor’s involvement with a property (customized with the names/logos of the sponsor and the property).

Presenting Sponsor
The sponsor that has its name presented just above or below that of the sponsored property, e.g., “The Kroger Senior Classic presented by Fifth Third Bank,” or “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber presented by Lexus” or “AT&T presents Cirque du Soleil.” In presenting arrangements, the Event name and the Sponsor name are not fully integrated since the word(s) “presents” or “presented by” always come between them.

Price Adjusters
Market factors identified by IEG that increase or decrease the value of a sponsorship. These can include the value of a sponsor’s promotional commitment, the number of saleable categories purchased and the length of the contract.

Primary Sponsor
Refers to sponsor paying the largest fee and receiving largest package of benefits when property has no title or presenting sponsor, according to IEG.

Property
A unique, commercially exploitable entity, (typically in sports, arts, events, entertainment or causes). Synonyms: Property, Rightsholder, Seller

Psychographics
Quantified psychological profiles of individuals, based on their attitudes and behavior, as defined by the Amsterdam-based European Society for Opinion Marketing and Research.

Right of First Refusal
Contractual right granting a sponsor the right to match any offer the property receives during a specific period of time in the sponsor’s product category.

Sales Rights
When sponsor is granted preferred supplier right to sell its product or service to the property or its attendees or members.

Signage
Banners, billboards, electronic messages, decals, etc., displayed on-site and containing Sponsor ID.

Sole Sponsor
A company that has paid to be the only sponsor of a property.

Sponsee
A property available for sponsorship.

Sponsor
An entity that pays a property for the right to promote itself and its products or services in association with the property, according to IEG.

Sponsor ID
Visual and audio recognitions of sponsor, e.g., sponsor name/logo on participant clothing, equipment, etc.; in property’s publications and advertising; public-address and on-air broadcast mentions.

Sponsorship
Defined by IEG in 1982 as: A cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property (typically sports, entertainment, non-profit event or organization) in return for access to the exploitable
commercial potential associated with that property.

Sponsorship Agency
A firm which specializes in advising on, managing, brokering or organizing sponsored properties. The agency may be employed by either the sponsor or property.

Sponsorship Fee
Payment made by a sponsor to a property.

Sports Marketing
Promotional strategy linking a company to sports (sponsorship of competitions, teams, leagues, etc.). See: Sponsorship

Supplier
Official provider of goods or services in exchange for designated recognition. This level is below official sponsor, and the benefits provided are limited accordingly.

Time Buy
When an event or event sponsor buys time from the broadcaster and is responsible for selling the advertising.

Title Sponsor
The sponsor that has its name incorporated into the name of the sponsored property, e.g., the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Tribal Marketing
Term coined by First Matter to refer to the creation of affinity groups for commercial ends. Perhaps the most notable and successful contemporary example is Harley-Davidson, which has coupled the sale of motorcycles and peripherals to the creation of weekend motorcycle clubs and an entire way of life built around Harley-Davidson products. Tribal marketing works best when it is constantly reinforced with icons.

Venue Marketing
Promotional strategy linking a sponsor to a physical site (sponsorship of stadiums, arenas, auditoriums, amphitheaters, racetracks, fairgrounds, etc.).

Virtual Signage
The insertion of signage electronically during a TV broadcast that is not actually present at the event.

Web Sponsorship
The purchase (in cash or trade) of the right to exploit the commercial potential associated with a site on the World Wide Web, including integrated relationship building and branding.

My boys are back!

My boys are back..and on Sports Center!!

ESPN has tapped some unconventional spokespeople for its flagship SportsCenter program and its fantasy football offerings: Geico's cavemen.
The insurance-shilling Neanderthals will be spotted frequently across the cable-sports behemoth's media properties over the next year as part of a novel integration deal between Geico and ESPN that casts the cavemen as fantasy-football salesmen, as well as stars of a series of vignettes promoting the network's flagship "SportsCenter" program.

"ESPN is basically using an advertiser's icon to drive viewers to its shows," said Bill Koenigsberg, CEO of Horizon Media, Geico's longtime media agency, which crafted the deal. "It's very unusual, but for these two brands we think it's a perfect fit."

The cavemen will appear on ESPN's TV, print, digital and radio channels, functioning as a "carnival barker" to draw people to its fantasy-football offering and to "SportsCenter," said Ed Erhardt, ESPN president for customer marketing and sales.

ESPN's online fantasy-football application went free three years ago and has since become the No. 2 fantasy-football website, trailing only Yahoo Sports.

Doing the usual shtick
Mr. Erhardt said the cavemen will be doing their usual, inferiority-complex-driven shtick in their appearances for ESPN. Typically, they've taken offense at Geico's claims that signing up for a policy on it website is "so easy a caveman can do it" but as they are deployed in a number of sporting scenarios, they'll apparently find new, non-Geico sources for offense.

Geico's brand will make some appearances in the creative, which is a product of a collaboration between Arnold Worldwide, ESPN's shop, and Martin Agency, Geico's agency.

Mr. Erhardt noted that the cavemen, like ESPN, tend to use self-disparaging humor in their ads. "We both take sports seriously and ourselves not so seriously," he said.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Geico Chief Marketing Officer Ted Ward said the cost of the yearlong deal was "significant."

Latest integration play
This is the latest -- and potentially most extensive -- integration play for the cavemen. In the past, they've been seen playing a Super Bowl Sunday round of golf with CBS commentator Phil Simms and, of course, they starred in their own failed ABC sitcom.

While he wouldn't provide details, Horizon's Mr. Koenigsberg hinted that Geico might be pursuing similar integration deals on other cable networks with its other mascot, the Geico gecko. Mr. Ward wouldn't comment on that, but conceded "the lizard is always hard at work trying to drum up another deal."

Those possibilities, Mr. Ward noted, are the result of an enormous investment by the Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurer in creating personas for its icons. Geico spent a category-leading $558 million in measured media last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

"We're in a unique position to leverage these characters we have," said Mr. Ward. "Not many brands can do that."

Get...Train...Retain and get outside the box

Get..Train..Retain.

Three key words all companies should have on the top of the training manuals for management team members. Your team members make your brand..Get..Train..Retain. Sounds easy right? Well not for every company. I was talking to a friend who is a HR professional last week and we were talking about how to reward team members for thinking.

-One suggestion I had was to reward/bonus team members for ideas that didn't work! She almost spit her soda up at me when I said that. Why would you reward someone for an idea that didn't work she said. Why not give them a reason to be thinking and innovating. If they have an idea that is well thought out and documented on paper and the company tries the idea and it doesn't work as expected, give them a bonus for coming up with the idea. We are working on writing the idea up as she is going to present this idea and a few others to her CEO next week.... I will keep you posted if she still has a job!

Thinking outside the box...successful companies have the culture and most unsuccessful do not...we believe her company does, does yours?

Papa John's Is 'Cropping Up' At Democratic National Convention

Papa John's Is 'Cropping Up' At Democratic National Convention

More than 35,000 Democratic National Convention attendees--not to mention many thousands of other people flying in and out of Denver over the next few months--will undoubtedly be jockeying to get a view out of plane windows as they near Denver International Airport (DIA). Not in hopes of spotting presumptive presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama on the tarmac, but to get a good look at the biggest "pizza" anyone's ever likely to see. In a promotion that even Mel Gibson could love, Papa John's commissioned a six-acre crop circle depicting a pizza topped with pepperoni and other goodies to boost awareness of its new 100% whole-wheat crust pizzas. The crop circle also includes a Papa John's pizza box in its upper right-hand corner and the words "New 100% Whole-Wheat Crust Pizza" in its lower-right corner. "We think the crop circle is a perfect visual for communicating Papa John's use of 100% whole grains to make our new whole-wheat crust pizza," summed up Bill Van Epps, president, Papa John's USA. The crop circle, located a mile from DIA's runways and less than 30 miles from downtown Denver, is by no means a first in the world of marketing. It was created by Stan Herd, known as the "Michelangelo of earthworks," whose many natural creations have included some other commercial crop circles. However, Papa John's believes it's the first pizza brand to get the rural mural treatment, according to PR director Trish Muldoon. The crop circle's concept and timing vis à vis the Democratic National Convention was "part strategy, part serendipity," says Muldoon. Papa John's introduced the new crusts in May, becoming the first national pizza chain to add 100% whole-wheat crusts to its menu. As it happens, the wheat used to make the Ultragrain flour used for the crusts is grown in Colorado--making Denver's hosting of the convention a large-scale opportunity for land-branding. Tied in with the completion of the crop circle, Papa John's offered the whole-wheat crust pizzas at a special price--$8.88, on orders made through its Web site on Thursday and today. Papa John's reported $572.4 million in revenue for the first six months of this year--an increase of 10.7% compared to first-half 2007. Net income for the period was $16.3 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, compared to last year's $20.2 million, or $0.66 per diluted share. That included an after-tax loss of $5.5 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, from the consolidation of BIBP Commodities, Inc., a franchisee-owned cheese purchasing company.

Starbucks to cut 1,000 non-store jobs

Starbucks will cut 1,000 corporate jobs.

Q-Who will lead the brand in its turn around efforts?
Q-With 1,000 less team members does this leave the coffee giant empty in the field and in Seattle?

Maybe if Starbucks would have stopped trying to have " World Dominance" and concentrated on building the best brand possible they would not be going through this problem. Take care of the inside before you go outside even applies to Starbucks even though there outside was the world!

So what do you think...

What do you think of the new WalMart Logo?

Starberry growing up?

You all know of my love for 80's cartoons and now that my little girl is 5 I have her into all of the classics toons! Most of the classics have been updated and that is fine but there is something to be said for leaving the brand "Icon" alone. Your thoughts?

LOS ANGELES — Strawberry Shortcake was having an identity crisis. The “it” doll and cartoon star of the 1980s was just not connecting with modern girls. Too candy-obsessed. Too ditzy. Too fond of wearing bloomers.

So her owner, American Greetings Properties, worked for a year on what it calls a “fruit-forward” makeover. Strawberry Shortcake, part of a line of scented dolls, now prefers fresh fruit to gumdrops, appears to wear just a dab of lipstick (but no rouge), and spends her time chatting on a cellphone instead of brushing her calico cat, Custard. Her new look was unveiled Tuesday, along with plans for a new line of toys from Hasbro.

She is not the only aging fictional star to get a facelift. An unusually large number of classic characters for children are being freshened up and reintroduced — on store shelves, on the Internet and on television screens — as their corporate owners try to cater to parents’ nostalgia and children’s YouTube-era sensibilities. Adding momentum is a retail sector hoping to find refuge from a rough economy in the tried and true.

Warner Brothers hopes to “reinvigorate and reimagine” Bugs Bunny and Scooby-Doo through a new virtual world on the Internet, where people will be able to dress up the characters pretty much any way they want. American Greetings is dusting off another of its lines, the Care Bears, which will return with a fresh look this fall (less belly fat, longer eyelashes).

And 4Kids Entertainment, which licenses the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will revive them next year in new video games, where they will have more muscles and less attitude.

Even Mickey Mouse is getting an update, although the Walt Disney Company is still mulling what tweaks to make.

“I love classic Mickey, but he needs to evolve to be relevant to new generations of kids,” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said in an interview.

Reinventing these beloved characters without inflicting indelible damage is one of the entertainment industry’s trickiest maneuvers. Go too far, as Mattel did in 1993 when it gave Ken a purple mesh T-shirt, a pierced ear and the name “Earring Magic Ken,” and it can set off a brand crisis on a global scale.

Done correctly, it can be incredibly lucrative. Mickey Mouse produces an estimated $5 billion in merchandise sales every year. Strawberry Shortcake, even in her diminished state, has generated $2.5 billion in revenue since 2003, according to American Greetings.

If the classic characters look less stodgy, the companies hope, they will appeal not only to parents who remember them fondly, but also to children who might automatically be suspicious of toys their parents played with. For parents, nostalgia is considered a bigger sales hook than ever because of the increasingly violent and hyper-sexualized media landscape.

“It’s a terrible world, and modern parents are trying to cocoon their kids as much as possible,” said Alfred R. Kahn, chairman of 4Kids Entertainment, which also manages franchises like Pokémon and the Cabbage Patch Kids. “What better way to protect them than wrapping them in nostalgic brands?”

Mr. Iger talks about the need to balance “heritage and innovation.” For Mickey and other Disney characters, one method is to keep the core attributes of the characters the same, but to update the world in which they live. For instance, Disney is updating Toontown, the section of Disneyland that Mickey calls home. One plan features an old-fashioned trolley, but Mr. Iger is not sure that is a smart idea. Will modern children know what an old-fashioned trolley is?

Warner Brothers, by contrast, is leaving the styling decisions up to the customers, some of whom were weaned on virtual worlds like Disney’s Club Penguin (where they can, say, dress a virtual penguin in a pirate costume and make it dance). At KidsWB.com, which is rolling out a revised site over the summer, the studio will let people customize Looney Tunes characters as they see fit.

“You want a dark, Goth version of Tweety Bird? Have at it,” said Lisa Gregorian, executive vice president for worldwide marketing at Warner Brothers Television.

New media applications have created opportunities that companies did not have before, Ms. Gregorian said. And one reason the characters bring in so much money is that their owners have pumped them out all over the place: on direct-to-DVD movies, television programs, toys, clothing, video games, furniture and even live stage productions.

There have been some noteworthy misfires. Warner Brothers has struggled to make the Looney Tunes crowd relevant to modern children, introducing futuristic-looking versions of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in a new television series in 2005. But many parents hated the “Loonatics,” which had mohawks and menacing eyes.

Earring Magic Ken is the industry’s nightmare. The character, who had blond highlights in his hair and a leather vest, drew howls from consumers, who did not see him as a realistic boyfriend for Barbie. Ken was already coping with arched eyebrows over his sexual orientation, and he seemed to have come out of the closet — something that Mattel most definitely did not intend.

Most of the brands getting a makeover are from the 1980s. Licensing experts say they perceive a subtle psychological game at play, an attempt to hit the nostalgia button on a generation of young parents just as they start to feel their first twinges of middle age.

Playing up nostalgia, of course, has long been one of this industry’s favorite gimmicks. But this time, companies have an added incentive from the sour economy. Chains from Wal-Mart to Toys “R” Us are less likely to take a shot on untested product lines during weak economic times — especially because efforts to create new characters have had mixed results in recent years, said Christopher Byrne, an independent toy consultant.

The same for TV networks. As new cartoon series flop, familiar names start to look like a good bet. Witness “Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps,” a new animated show based on the popular children’s books, which will begin this fall on PBS Kids.

For American Greetings, updating Strawberry Shortcake was about leaving the troubles of the modern world behind and playing up a fantasy angle, said Jeffrey Conrad, the company’s head creative designer.

Artists produced nearly 400 drawings depicting new looks, then American Greetings asked licensing partners for feedback. With the drawings hanging in a single room, he told focus group members to put Post-it notes on the 20 that they liked. “We refined it from there,” he said.

On top of her new toy line, Strawberry Shortcake is getting a new computer-animated movie and a new TV series, starting next year. This time, in keeping with contemporary nutritional concerns, the franchise will downplay the sugary dessert theme and move, as Mr. Conrad put it, “fruit-forward.”

“It’s also about creating a cohesive line,” Mr. Conrad said. “We’re downplaying characters that were part of Strawberry’s world but who didn’t immediately shout out fruit.”

And you thought we had run out of places to put ads

Advertising on seat back trays!!

GM Markets OnStar, Malibu Via US Airways Seatback Trays

General Motors' OnStar division has begun advertising OnStar--well, Chevrolet Malibu and OnStar--and its Turn-by-Turn navigation feature on US Airways. The campaign, which runs through July, uses seatback trays as billboards to tout the feature with ads that suggest OnStar is like a co-pilot. The media deal was brokered by New York-based Brand Connections for Sky Media. One of the ads shows the Malibu from inside looking out as if one were the pilot. Another features a beauty shot of Malibu, and the third is a caricature of the OnStar Turn-By-Turn operational flow chart: push, tell, listen and arrive. OnStar marketing director Andy Young said Malibu was chosen for the effort because it's new, and also because it was important to get across that OnStar and its portfolio of applications is not only for GM's premium vehicles but for mass-market cars, specifically as a competitive edge versus vehicles like Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. "You can't get OnStar by going into the store and buying it, so it makes a whole lot of sense to take the equity of the OnStar brand and ensure people associate it with GM vehicles," he says. "Going all the way back to OnStar's early days, consumers thought they could only get OnStar on more expensive vehicles, so it's been a big effort with us and with GM's [mass market] divisions to make sure customers know they can get OnStar in any range of vehicles." He says the division is also currently running TV spots--also featuring Malibu--that tout the vehicle's OnStar Automatic Crash Response program. OnStar last month launched two enhancements to OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation. One--eNav, a partnership with MapQuest.com--will let subscribers with Turn-by-Turn Navigation-capable vehicle find a destination on a computer, at MapQuest, and then have that destination sent to their vehicle's OnStar system. Route guidance to the destination can then be accessed via voice command.

Lost at Sea...

I thought Mr. Shultz said they were going to focus on there core brand...Coffee! Not sure this is the right direction to take. Health Smoothies?? I run 40+ miles a week and I don't think I will ask my running partners if they would like to stop at Starbucks on the way back for a Smoothie.

I think they have lost there way at sea. Do what you do best..Coffee!


Starbucks is adding a line of smoothie-like drinks made with fresh fruit and whey powder throughout its U.S. locations this summer. The flavors developed include chocolate banana and orange mango. The company says they're the first stage of a broader push into healthier drink and food offerings, as well as being a differentiator that cannot be purchased at other fast-food establishments.

The company also will begin selling a more-indulgent sweet, icy beverage developed with an unnamed Italian company. That drink will be sold only in select markets, including Southern California. Part of the strategy is to price the drink affordably to appeal to customers who have cut back on spending. Starbucks wouldn't disclose the name or price of either drink.

Both drinks could help Starbucks move beyond the Frappuccino, the ice-blended drink that allowed it to expand beyond coffee drinks in the 1990s. In recent years, the Frappuccino has been less effective at driving summer sales, in part because competitors copied it.

Holy Direct Mail

Marketing The Good News
Savvy churches are using direct mail to spread the Word

Churches used to build their membership through word of mouth. Increasingly, savvy congregations are taking that approach up a notch by getting the word out via direct mail campaigns.
And while many smaller churches often do their own marketing, the larger churches are turning more often to professional marketers to help them add to the flock.
Gina Manlove, vice president of John Manlove Church Marketing, in Pasadena, Texas, says her company has done business with thousands of churches in recent years, helping craft and hone messages about a host of issues, from the arrival of a new minister to outreach to non-Christians.
“What we do is unique to each church and its needs,” says Manlove, whose company began as a business-to-business marketing company. It opened its church-marketing division in the 1990s after noticing a lack of good-quality marketing materials for churches.
She says Manlove Marketing (johnmanlove.com), which has worked with about 5,000 churches over the years, uses direct to create a brand-oriented design for each church. “Direct mail is beneficial only when it is effective,” Manlove says. “Being effective means using a brand-driven strategy. Many marketing companies focus on the cost per card. With that approach it is easy to make inexpensive direct mail cards. Instead, we measure the cards’ ability to actually increase church attendance.”
Of course, some churches still prefer to reach out to members and potential members on their own, and there are several marketing agencies that specialize in church-related materials. For example, church-marketing.com, which focuses primarily on direct mail, offers online marketing tutorials, design services, card printing services and mail shop services.
But whether the marketing is done by their members or by professionals, Manlove says, many church members remain uncomfortable with the idea of “marketing.” Manlove, however, has an answer for the skeptics: “A beautiful direct mail piece is just another way of knocking on someone’s door.”

-Deliver Magazine







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ROI !

Pizza.com goes for $2,605,000

An unidentifed bidder snagged the pizza.com domain name on April 3 for $2,605,000. Former owner Chis Clark paid $20 for the name in 1994.