Chicago-based World Kitchen brand Pyrex has launched its largest campaign in a decade to highlight the brand's new line of kitchenware. The new campaign, via the Milwaukee office of Cramer-Krasselt, carries the brand's first tag-line, "Cooking Solved." The effort includes TV, print, Internet, a new Web site and PR elements timed for the holiday cooking season. Four TV spots show a woman's hand doing a pencil drawing of various products from the new Pyrex kitchenware line that then become animated to demonstrate function. Three of the ads focus, separately, on Pyrex' cheese grater that has a measurement feature, a stain-free Pyrex cooking/storage container, and a whisk that also functions as a spatula. "We could call it a whiskula ... or not," says the voiceover. The fourth spot shows a range of the new Pyrex kitchen products. Pam McMeen, director of marketing at World Kitchen, says the last big effort was the late '90's launch of Pyrex Portables, which was also the last time the company ran any TV advertising. "The Pyrex brand has dabbled in the kitchen tools and gadgets and metal bakeware categories but not with the degree of innovation, breadth of offering or marketing support that is a part of this launch," McMeen tells Marketing Daily. "The Pyrex brand is new to the cookware category." She says the holidays are the peak season for bakeware and cookware in particular, "but there are also other more modest peaks in demand throughout the year, including the Spring wedding season and Back to School," she says. McMeen says the Pyrex consumers are 25- to-34-year-old women recently married or about to be. "These are women who are establishing their kitchens and highly involved in the purchase decision process," she says. "Our campaign is intended to reach a broad audience including 'new,' inexperienced cooks looking for smart, simple-to-use tools as well as more experienced cooks who can appreciate the benefits our smart features provide." Print ads use the same device with more detail about the utensils and cookware and headlines that read "Solving for ..." TV ads launch this week on ABC Family, Bravo, Lifetime, Food Network, Style and Oxygen. Print ads began appearing in the October issues of lifestyle books like Everyday with Rachael Ray, Real Simple, Elle and Redbook. Cramer-Krasselt also handled the media planning and buying.
While it won't be as bleak as last year, a new report predicts that sales will gain just 1.8% on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The estimate comes from BDO Seidman's "Retail Compass Survey," based on a poll of 100 CMOs at leading retailers. The biggest surprise in the results, says Ted Vaughan, a partner in the retail and consumer product practice, is just how widespread markdowns will be, "with 96% of the CMOs saying they are going to be discounting. That level of promotion, even after what happened last [year], shows that given the current consumer mindset, retailers believe that deep discounts are just a fact of life, and the way to entice consumers. And when the major player -- Wal-Mart Stores -- is announcing so early in the season that it won't be beat on prices, there's not much else other stores can do." Consumer confidence continues to be a big issue, despite positive signs in the economy. (That includes the survey's findings that most retailers believe business will pick up in the second quarter of 2010, which means they will begin to increase their orders for more merchandise soon.) "The unemployment rate is weighing on consumers," he says. The emphasis on early, strategic promotional pricing is forcing retailers to rethink their holiday calendar, making Black Friday (Nov. 27 this year) less of an event, with shopping spread out over a longer period. "This year, discounts started before Halloween, which means that Black Friday is just one large shopping day," he tells Marketing Daily. People won't spend more, he says, but they will do their Christmas shopping over a longer period of time. Last year, the same survey predicted flat growth, and the year before -- a distant "good old days" memory for most retailers -- an 8.3% sales growth for Black Friday and 21% for Cyber Monday. In addition to the ubiquitous discounts, CMOs say they will rely heavily on online campaigns and email promotions (53%), as well as special events (43%.) Another indication of the changing landscape, says Vaughan, is that more CMOs named toys as the strongest category, with 39%. "One of the shifts in consumer mentality we've seen is that more and more, people are focusing on what's most important to them," Vaughan says. "They may cut back in other areas, but they won't cut back on toys for their kids." Conversely, only 24% believe that consumer electronics -- a darling in many Christmases past -- will be the strongest. As a result, it's where CMOs expect to see the biggest discounts: 37% say it will be the leading category for markdowns. Respondents also believe gift-card sales will be underperformers this year, accounting for just 5% of stores' holiday sales, down from nearly 12% in 2008. The good news is that stores seem ready for what's coming, and with leaner inventories and more controlled promotions, most do not believe that sales will decline, "a sign that the economy is stabilizing," Vaughan says. As a result, he expects to see fewer retail bankruptcies than last year. "So many chains have closed underperfoming stores, laid off employees, and restructured credit. At this point, for many, any more would mean cutting into the bone," he says. "If they've made it this far, they can hang on."
Vitaminwater and 50 Cent have teamed up to launch a new iPhone app that allows fans to remix parts of 50 Cent's album on their device. On the 50's Sound Lab App, users can create and share their own mixes of "Baby by Me," the first single from 50 Cent's LP "Before I Self Destruct," via their iPhone or iPod Touch. In addition to being able to remix the new single, 50 Cent is giving one aspiring fan a chance to show off their skills with him in the recording studio. Once all of the Vitaminwater remixes have been uploaded, 50 Cent will scout out the best remix of his latest single and invite that person to meet up with him. Users can record and share their personal mixes via Facebook, email, or on the interactive music companion site: http://www.50soundlab.com. The app will be available as long as 50 Cent is scouting the remixes. The deadline for these is Feb. 16, according to a Vitaminwater spokesperson. "There is a marketing and press strategy in place to raise awareness of the app," said Vitaminwater spokeperson Jesse Parker Stowell, who declined to provide further details. The 50's Sound Lab App is powered by Moderati's Romplr remix platform. Romplr allows fans to interact with music by creating their own versions of tracks by their favorite artists, thereby becoming part of the creative process themselves. The 50's Sound Lab App gives fans access to the key elements of the original recording and provides creative tools to personalize the new single. 50's Sound Lab App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch. "50 Cent is a part of the Vitaminwater family and we are excited to be able to share his new single with everyone through this groundbreaking social media experience," said Rohan Oza, CMO of Vitaminwater, in a statement. No one from Vitaminwater marketing was available to speak to the media on Tuesday, according to Stowell.
Everyone loves a heartwarming holiday story, and Alltel is hoping to sate that desire with a trio of holiday commercials employing comedic actor Fred Willard. The television, radio and online effort, which broke earlier this week, features Willard (known for roles in "This is Spinal Tap," "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show" and several television guest spots) as the teller of cheerful holiday stories featuring Alltel's longtime spokescharacter Chad and his nemeses representing the big four wireless carriers. The first television commercial, "The Woman and the LG," broke earlier this week. In the commercial, Willard tells the story of "Heather, who was stuck in a contract that seemed like forever." As the four competitors challenge "a new phone means more of us," Heather heads to an Alltel store, where Chad offers an LG phone with a one-year contract. Further commercials will break on Black Friday and the day after Christmas (with a message that it's not too late to get a new phone). "The challenge in the holiday period is to break through," Lynette Jurgens, senior strategic marketing leader for Alltel, tells Marketing Daily. "[Alltel agency] Campbell Ewald came up with this storyteller approach, knowing that the rhyming and tone of the campaign catches your ear." For years, Alltel has used Chad -- a good-looking blond man -- and his four nebbish cohorts to promote various services, including Alltel's once-groundbreaking "My Circle" calling plan. But as other carriers have introduced similar plans, Alltel this year is promoting different services. "With all that noise around circle plans, we launched one-year service contracts," Jurgens says. "So our holiday campaign is focusing on those contracts. And we've expanded My Circle to include unlimited texting to those friends, and we'll be focusing on that." With the change in tactics, the company felt Willard's inherent familiarity and acting ability could help the spots break through in a crowded holiday period, Jurgens says, adding: "He's immediately recognizable and brings credibility to the brand." In January 2009, Verizon Wireless purchased most of the Alltel wireless network. But antitrust agreements required that about 2 million customers in areas where the two brands combined would have been dominant be put in a trust owned by -- but run separately from -- Verizon. Over the past year, the trust has continued to promote the Alltel brand and its services, Jurgens says. "We've actually been growing our base since January," she says. "Our mission is to compete, so we've done what it takes to compete." The unique business situation has also led to a sales platform promoting one-year contracts. Knowing that customers might be ware of signing a long-term contract with a company's whose future is up in the air, Alltel devised the one-year contract that is being promoted in the current commercial.
ConAgra Foods is expanding its branded entertainment marketing with a year-long sponsorship of a new Yahoo online program "What's So Funny?" Multiple brands, including Marie Callender's, Healthy Choice and Orville Redenbacher's, will be integrated into the program's content over the course of the sponsorship. One key objective is reaching consumers looking for online entertainment during their lunch-hour breaks. Monday through Friday, the program's three-minute episodes show the funniest moments from the previous night's television shows, with commentary and personal favorite picks offered by hosts Mike Bachmann and Shira Lazar. Viewer votes on the daily clips help determine the funniest moments of the week, which are then shown during a weekend recap episode. Each episode includes a 30- to 60-second branded segment for a ConAgra product that "incorporates the product's key messaging and aligns strategically with existing brand advertising," in ConAgra's words. For example, the initial episodes are featuring an "Ingredients for Good Comedy" segment that combines elements of what goes into making a show funny and visuals conveying the fresh ingredients that go into Marie Callender's Home-Style Creations. (The product's tagline: "Home-Style Taste Made Fresh in Minutes.") There are also several other branded elements. A banner topping the program's home page (http://customsites.yahoo.com/conagra) positions the show as "Marie Callendar's Home-Style Creations presents ...What's So Funny?," with the product's logo included in the header. In addition, a brief commercial for the featured product ends each episode, and the page features two standing ads. The larger ad, prominently positioned adjacent to the video clips window, currently features a rollover for a downloadable video that demonstrates how to prepare the Home-Style Creations meals and highlights the six varieties available. A second, smaller ad alerts viewers to the face that the product can be found in the pasta or soup aisle of their grocery store and links to a ConAgra site also featuring preparation and varieties information, plus a store locator tool. ConAgra has created and/or sponsored online branded entertainment in the past, including its "Working Lunch" concept for the launch of Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers and its "Mom & Pop Culture" sponsorship for Orville Redenbacher's (both initiatives with MSN). However, the new Yahoo partnership is the first that ConAgra has developed "with an eye toward multiple brand exposure and experiences slotted in throughout a longer time period," as opposed to brand-by-brand initiatives, ConAgra manager of media services Jonathan Shen tells Marketing Daily. "There is definitely a pretty deep branded experience on the site. Our goal is to help develop and be a part of new branded entertainment that delivers a strong, engaging consumer experience, but also something that provides a broad canvas for brand messaging in a variety of formats." ConAgra applied learning from previous partnerships in developing the Yahoo sponsorship, Shen says. "It's a growing process, but we are focused on learning and optimizing as we progress," he adds. ConAgra has begun quantitative assessment of the program, which launched Nov. 9, but recognizes that the series will "need time to build a loyal audience," Shen says.
There was not much of a silver lining in General Motors' first post-bankruptcy earnings report, whose headline was a $1.2 billion loss. But there might be a glimmer of light from nuggets picked from data at Edmunds.com. Analysts at the Santa Monica, Calif.-based auto shopping and research site say that while per-vehicle profit from sales is flat, consumer interest in the automaker's vehicles is up. And consumers do not seem to associate GM's brands with GM (and its problems). In the firm's measure of consideration, based on the percentage of Edmunds.com site visitors who viewed pages of content specifically about a vehicle or brand during a given month, all four GM brands have seen improvements since January this year. Buick consideration has gone from 1.35% to 2.71%; Cadillac's from 2.43% to 3.18%; Chevrolet's from 10.79% to 11.56%; and GMC consideration went from 2.78% to 3.83%, per Edmunds. Jeremy Anwyl, president of Edmunds.com, tells Marketing Daily that the improvement in consideration for Chevrolet is especially important because it is 60% of the company's business. "So a 1% improvement for Chevrolet is worth a lot more than a similar improvement for Buick. The big thing is the size of the divisions." Anwyl says that while bankruptcy and the unpopularity of the government's bailout loans were drags on GM's performance earlier this year, from which Ford has benefited, people do not connect GM's individual divisions with GM. "The original thought was nobody would buy cars from someone in bankruptcy," he says. "But what we saw with Chrysler and GM was that people don't really make a connection between, say Jeep and Chrysler, or Chevrolet and GM." General Motors also has some other consideration drivers going for it: five new, well-received, and high-volume models in the marketplace, including Chevy Equinox/GMC Terrain; Buick Lacrosse, and the new Cadillac SRX. "And they are doing pretty well. They are way ahead of average," says Anwyl, who adds that way before bankruptcy, GM broke its habit of producing mediocre vehicles. "They are bringing out good vehicles that have been doing well in the market; the Pontiac Aztek was probably the last really bad car." And consideration is up because of GM's incentive spending, particularly for 2009 model vehicles like the Silverado pickup. "It's a complex picture," says Anwyl. "New vehicles are selling well and have positive pricing power, and on those not selling well and older vehicles, there are big discounts."
Top 10 DMAs in which reside adults who used a financial planner in the past year: 1 Minneapolis/ St. Paul 2 Green Bay/ Appleton, Wis. 3 Des Moines/ Ames, Iowa 4 Rochester, N.Y. 5 Grand Rapids/ Kalamazoo/ Battle Creek, Mich. 6 Milwaukee, Wis. 7 Hartford & New Haven, Conn. 8 Denver 9 Detroit 10 Cincinnati, Ohio Source: Scarborough Research, www.weknowthelocals.com
The concept of brands and branding has spread far beyond its origins in consumer products. Politicians, towns, celebrities, events, and governments all recognize that their brand - what they stand for and the sum of all perceptions - is a critical component to achieving long-term success, regardless of how they define it. With good cheer, seasonal requests for donations, and sad stories about the needy already emerging for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I got to thinking about the connection between brands and charity. The importance of brand has also extended to organizations dedicated to doing good or helping segments of the population. In fact, a robust brand may be even more important to the long-term success of charitable organizations than to that of traditional businesses. Think about it. In a typical business transaction, money is exchanged for a tangible product or service. Purchasers have the opportunity to feel they have gotten something. Even if the brand image isn't great, there is still a quid pro quo and everyone wins. But what about a charitable organization? What do "consumers" really get for their spend? Self-satisfaction? A sense of well-being? Or just a tax deduction? If we can assume that the primary desired outcome of donating is a sense that we are helping make the world just a little bit better, then we'd better trust that the organization really will do the right thing with our money. Hence, they need a good brand. Also, even in good times the fight for a share of a donor's or sponsor's wallet is fierce. How do we decide where to give? As I started thinking about it, the decision criteria for giving exactly replicates Landor's well-known four pillar model for building strong brands: be differentiated establish relevance, build esteem, and grow knowledge. We give to an organization because it seems special (differentiation), it fits into our life (relevance), we feel good about it (esteem), and we understand what it does (knowledge). To see which charitable organizations had the strongest brands on the four pillar model, we tapped into Landor's consumer brand equity tool, BrandAsset Valuator (BAV), the world's largest study of brands. In the United States, we measure over 3,000 brands annually on more than 70 key measures of equity and imagery. BAV includes products, services, companies, and TV shows, just about every type of brand you can think of, including 44 national charities. According to 2008 BAV data, the Top 20 U.S. charities with the strongest brands are: 1 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital11 Doctors Without Borders 2 Ronald McDonald House 12 March of Dimes 3 Make-A-Wish Foundation 13 American Diabetes Association 4 American Red Cross 14 Meals on Wheels 5 American Cancer Society 15 YMCA 6 Habitat for Humanity 16 Boys and Girls Clubs of America 7 American Heart Association 17 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 8 Breast Cancer Research Foundation 18 Big Brothers and Sisters 9 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 19 Save the Children 10 Salvation Army 20 United Way What does this list tell us? First, as a nation we value our children and want to keep them well; we most admire those brands that try to do so and reward them with our respect. Seven of the Top 20 focus on children and youth, and the top three, sadly, are dedicated to helping very ill children and their families. Overall, 11 of the 20, including the top five, focus on health and illness issues. Very topically, we also reward noncommercial/nongovernmental health care organizations with remarkably high brand strength scores. Although tempted, I refrain from hypothesizing what this may mean for the current health care political situation. Of the organizations concerned primarily with youth, four try to help from a medical perspective and three the "whole person" - YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. These three are long-established groups that also appear high on Forbes magazine's 2008 list of the 200 largest charities. Somewhat surprisingly (to me at least), only four of the Top 20 charitable brands serve needy grown-ups and the whole family - Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Noticeably absent from the Top 20 are organizations with an environmental focus. The first brand, the World Wildlife Fund, shows up at number 24 followed by Greenpeace at number 27. Further, only three on the Top 20 list have an arguably international focus: Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. I wonder: Would the WWF and Greenpeace have stronger brands in the United States if they were seen as more local or homegrown? So which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Are the brands dedicated to health care and youth stronger than those dedicated to older adults and the environment because we care more about kids and health? Or do we care more about kids and health because the groups dedicated to them built stronger brands? I daren't say.