March 2006
Brand Strategy's Trends and News for March
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At first, we are planning to produce the newsletter on a monthly basis – in between issues of the magazine. Our aim is to highlight trends, news and comment in the world of branding and marketing; report on events that we may have attended in the month;please let us know what you think – and what you would like to see us covering. Email ruth.mortimer@centaur.co.uk
For this month:
Ruth Mortimer, editor (ruth.mortimer@centaur.co.uk) recommends...
BUZZING OFF CHOCOLATE
Hershey is relaunching its Take Five candy bar with a campaign involving 69,000 buzz marketing evangelists and an online game. It’s a far cry from its original launch last year which saw an estimated $17 million focused mainly on traditional TV ads. Has buzz finally made it to the mainstream?
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CONSUMER CONTENT
Will consumers be the real content creators and deciders over the next ten years? Marcel Fenez at PwC thinks so; brands such as Jones Soda and American Apparel are leading the field and even large corporations such as General Motors are getting in on the act:
More...More... (for Jones Soda and American Apparel)
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TO YAHOO OR NOT TO YAHOO
Yahoo, meanwhile, has scaled back plans to create branded content online as it will not be competitive. Has the brand become too large to be innovative?
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ENDORSEMENT AND ADULATION
The Oscars are all about branding. But it’s not just the stars who try and raise their profiles. Brands are keen to associate themselves with the event to gain prestige and that all-important celebrity endorsement. Touchdown Affinity Marketing analyses the experience here:
More...(click on ‘resources’ and then ‘opinion’)
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Morag Cuddeford Jones, contributing editor, (morag.cuddeford@centaur.co.uk) recommends….
GOVERNMENT WON’T PLAY OVER OLYMPICS
The British government has declared that plans to prevent any brands from exploiting the London 2012 Olympics are unworkable. The organising committee had originally hoped to scupper any ambush marketing by protecting the use of Olympic-related terms such as ‘gold’, ‘games’ and ‘2012’. Now courts will have to decide if marketers were intending to profit from an illicit association with the event.
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VODAFONE BLUES
Following our Brand MOT (now titled Brand Therapy) featuring Vodafone in our December/January issue, it seems the beleaguered mobile phone company's fortunes are yet to improve. Chris Gent, the lifetime president, has resigned his privilege and CEO Arun Sarin has taken a decisive step in ousting chief marketing officer Peter Bamford, responsible for the launch of Vodafone Live!, it's value-added services package. Analysts are concerned that this is less about business performance, and more about a fundamental disconnect between key figures within the business.
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Kate Walsh, feature writer, (kate.walsh@centaur.co.uk) recommends...
AL GORE TO "DEMOCRATISE" ADS WITH VIEWER-CREATED CONTENT
Sony, Toyota and L'Oreal have signed deals with Al Gore's TV network,
Current TV, allowing viewers to produce their commercials. The best will be
aired on the channel. See what one viewer came up with for Sony:
More...Current TV aims to "democratise" television by having viewers create up to
one third of its programming – anyone can upload a video and then people can
vote for it to go on air.
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ADVERTISING ON PODCASTS
HBO has joined the ranks of Honda and Verizon Wireless by promoting its
latest show "Big Love" on 31 popular podcasts targeting women over 25.
Emarketer predicts that ad spend on this medium will hit $80m by the end of
the year. See the top 10 podcasts for March on:
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BRITS SPEND 164 MINUTES ONLINE EVERYDAY
This is the equivalent of more than 41 days each year. For more on the
research conducted by TNS and commissioned by Google see:
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Claudine Baker, feature writer, (Claudine.baker@centaur.co.uk) recommends…
SOFT DRINKS LOSE FIZZ
Sales of carbonated soft drinks have dropped for the first time in two decades. As consumers migrate to healthier beverage choices, whose R&D will yield the most popular alternatives and whose bubbles will burst?
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US and UK food watchdogs have also discovered the presence of a well-known carcinogen in some soft drinks and are testing the big brands to see whether benzene levels exceed legal limits.
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ETHICAL CONSUMPTION
New figures show fairtrade sales hit £195m last year from £140m in 2004. The Fairtrade Foundation says more than 1,500 products are available, nearly double last year. A new survey by the Fraser Consultancy reveals 70% of women and 69% of 18- to 34-year-olds plan to buy more Fairtrade and ethical products in the next 12 months.
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INSIDE CONSUMERS’ HEADS
TG Daily’s Scott M. Fulton discusses how advergaming can provide marketers with valuable information about consumers.
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MICROSOFT DOMINATES
Microsoft has reached a patenting milestone by logging its 5,000th patent granted in the US. It provides for technologies that allow people to not just play video games against each other online, but to join the game as a spectator from anywhere in the world in the same way that audiences can turn on a TV to follow a sports game.
More...The story behind the patent:
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Also from Brand Strategy magazine this month…
Colin Henry, senior VP for marketing and global product at Umbro, explains how he is moving the brand from football to fashion:
More...The world’s top marketing gurus predict the future:
More...How do you manage a brand which encompasses both business to business and business to consumer? Hitachi explains how:
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