Posts Tagged ‘Brands’

While Dems sip Starbuck’s latte, Republicans run on Dunkin’ … go figure.

June 18, 2012

Punch line:  Democrats and Republicans have wildly different taste when it comes to certain brands.  Politicians are starting to see the value in understanding these differences, and the link to voters’ decision making process.

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Excerpted from brandchannel.com’s, “Brand Decision 2012: Dems are from Starbucks, Republicans are from Dunkin’”

America is settling in for a long summer of campaigning between the Democratic candidate President Obama and the Grand Old Party’s Mitt Romney.

News of minor flubs by candidates and those who work for them will come up at bars, barbecues, and ice-cream joints across the land (or be completely avoided, for everyone’s safety).

… Members of the two political parties don’t just disagree on their candidates. They also mostly disagree on the brands they love, though there are three that help bring them together. Next time a president wants to have a bipartisan summit of some sort, he or she might want to involve Coke, Apple, and Visa.

Both candidates and brands have never fought harder for our affection and our votes, … It’s never been more important to understand why people make the choices that they do. Brands can learn a lot by having a deeper understanding of the deep-seated connections that drive our decision-making.

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Walmart marks healthy options with its own “Great for you” icon

February 16, 2012

Punchline: Walmart moms want to buy healthier foods for their families, but are over-whelmed by nutrition labels and options. To simplify the buying process and promote healthier eating, Walmart has made a “Great for you” icon for its healthy products.

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Excerpted from brandchannel.com, “Walmart’s “Great for You” Icon Promotes Healthier Food Choices”

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A year after pledging to develop a front-of-pack label that would give its customers an easier way to identify healthier food, and a month after a public commitment with First Lady Michelle Obama to putting nutrition front and center in its stores, Walmart, the nation’s largest food retailer this week unveiled a “Great For You” icon to create a visual system to educate customers ..

Walmart says it will adapt to whatever the FDA’s regulations are whenever that list actually is produced, but will for now add the icon to products with lower levels of fat, sugar, and artificial additives. Plus, the seal will appear on signage in the fruits and vegetable section of its grocery area.

“It helps customers see very, very quickly what healthier choices are for them,” stated Andrea Thomas, SVP of sustainability for Wal-Mart Stores …

“Walmart moms are telling us they want to make healthier choices for their families, but need help deciphering all the claims and information already displayed on products,” said Andrea Thomas, senior vice president of sustainability at Walmart. “Our ‘Great For You’ icon provides customers with an easy way to quickly identify healthier food choices. As they continue to balance busy schedules and tight budgets, this simple tool encourages families to have a healthier diet” …

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“Little” brands, few ad dollars … lots of awareness.

December 19, 2011

TakeAway: Small brands overcome limited marketing budgets by growing brand awareness through support of social movements, in-store experiences and work culture.

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Excerpt from AdAge: “How Little Brands Land Big Bang for Their Buck”

Brands built with little or no media support were once relatively rare, but they’ve begun to proliferate in recent years.

From Ben & Jerry’s, Honest Tea and Lululemon, they fascinate the many marketers who must shell out millions to get noticed.

One reason is that these success stories are often built on factors that don’t usually fit with big, established brands.

For example, some are built on substantial investments in branded retail stores and the store experience, rather than media.

Others are built on the brand’s affinity with political and social movements that can be tough for big brands to embrace.

And some have been based on big investments in wages, benefits and fun cultures that keep employees happy — not the usual storyline for huge corporations.

The common thread through all these no-cost, low-cost marketing success stories is a good story, one that bears repeating and fares well both in social and PR-fueled traditional media.

Almost by definition, such stories are easier for bootstrap entrepreneurs to come by than, say, 65-year-old detergent brands.

All things considered, It’s still nice to have money ..

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At ripe age of 132, P&G’s first mass marketed brand gets a makeover …

October 17, 2011

Punch line: P&G launches Ivory soap in new colorful packages and with a redesigned logo, and a back-to-basics nostalgic marketing campaign.

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Excerpted from philly.com, “P&G launches for Ivory soap”

… The remake is part of an effort to breathe new life into Ivory. It comes at a time when Americans are scaling back on spending in the down economy, but are looking for little, cheap ways to pamper themselves … As P&G has focused on bigger, faster-growing brands, the white bar of soap has lagged behind its rival Dove and faced increasing competition from Dial and Irish Spring.

Ivory isn’t among the 24 brands with at least $1 billion in annual sales at P&G … but the soap that floats has a long history with the company.

Ivory was the first brand mass-marketed by P&G. It is the namesake of a P&G research and production center called “Ivorydale.” It’s deeply entrenched in American pop culture as a sponsor of early television soap operas and the first televised major league baseball game …

“Ivory is where our origins are … It has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts around here. It’s incredibly important to keep it alive and growing.”

… P&G expects the new campaign to remind people why their families used Ivory in the past, and to attract new users with quality for low price …

“There is so much tail wind at our back: the economic environment, this trend of getting back to things that work, and reminding us of a time when things were a bit simpler.”

… Instead of Ivory’s usual nearly all-white packages, new ones will be more colorful. One is mostly bright blue. The new package emphasizes the 10 bars compared to 8- and 6-packs sold by most competitors with a big “10.” A simpler logo plays off the previous of the 1950s and carries the slogan, “pure, clean & simple.”

… The ads have some understated humor, calling Ivory “meticulously scented to smell exactly like soap” and pledging that “when dirt changes its formula, so will we.” …

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Thanks to DM for feeding the lead

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The top 100 brands … and the movers.

October 12, 2011

Interbrands’s has released its 2011 estimates of brand values.

First, the top 11.

I went 11 deep since  I think it’s noteworthy that Toyota gained in brand value despite the flap in the US over the alleged gas pedal problem.

Also, noteworthy is HP in 10th place …   obviously doesn’t reflect the recent turmoil there.

Rest of the list are the usual suspects.

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Here are the biggest gainers in brand value from 2010 to 2011.

Note that VW and Audi earned nice gains.

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And, here are the biggest losers in brand value from 2010 to 2011.

Only surprises  (to me) is IKEA and MTV.  It’s a bummer getting old …

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For the article, methodology and interactive chart click here

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