Kraft Foods, in a continuing transformation of its product portfolio, is divesting itself of several grocery assets in Canada. The company said it is selling licensing rights for Del Monte canned fruit and vegetable products as well as Aylmer tomatoes, vegetables, fruits, soup and beans; Primo pasta, sauce, soup, tomatoes, beans; Ideal vegetables; and Il Migliore and Roma foodservice pasta. Kraft will retain the rights to the Del Monte line of beverages in Canada. The buyer is CanGro Foods, a new company owned by affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. and EG Capital Group, LLC. "These grocery products, which are …

Sometimes a marketer's worst enemy can be found in its own backyard. In this list of marketing blunders, CMO magazine takes a look at the Top Ten examples of companies shooting themselves in the foot. One of the big winners, however, was not a traditional marketer--it was the Bush Administration, with its laundry list of major gaffes led by the president's now infamous quote to FEMA Director Michael Brown during the height of the agency's miscues over Hurricane Katrina: "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job." Other leaders included Coca-Cola's launch of Coke Zero, an effort that was forecast to capture …

Procter & Gamble is going to court to stop a company from allegedly copying the packaging for a group of P&G products. The consumer product giant filed suit in federal court in Ohio this week seeking an injunction against McLane Co., its Salado Sales subsidiary and Salado's Consumer Value Products brand. P&G says the company's products are packaged to resemble P&G brands including Bounty, Charmin, and Vicks' NyQuil and DayQuil. The suit charges trade dress infringement and unfair competition, arguing that the similarities in packaging intentionally borrow the equity of P&G's brands, and will confuse consumers. "We believe this is …

Being viewed as a "goody two-shoes" apparently has its advantages. At least that seems to be the case for figure skater Michelle Kwan, who has never won an Olympics gold medal but nonetheless has secured a number of lucrative endorsement deals usually reserved for athletes who bring home the gold. In an age when many contracts for celebrity endorsers contain "behavioral clauses" stipulating that if the athlete does anything to damage the brand, the company has the right to terminate the contract, Ms. Kwan enjoys a sterling reputation that makes her attractive to marketers. "I never have to worry about …

Anheuser-Busch is launching a second seasonal draft brew that will be available in bars and restaurants through February in an attempt to take advantage of holiday revelers. Called Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale, it's brewed with dark roasted caramel malts and imported hops, and it ages on toasted bourbon oak casks and Madagascar vanilla beans. A-B previously introduced Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, a beer spiced with the "aroma" of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The company's other specialty beverages include the Michelob Marzen and Michelob Pale Ale.

Small companies are discovering the power of buzz marketing, once the province of major marketers. Now smaller companies are experimenting with word-of-mouth campaigns in which people known as "buzz agents" are hired to spread the word about a product to friends and acquaintances. It's yet another tactic in a bulging bag of tricks all marketers are using (or at least considering) to supplement traditional advertising, which marketers fear has lost much of its power. "Word of mouth is the lifeblood for most, if not all, small businesses," says Ben McConnell, a marketing consultant based in Chicago and co-author of churchofthecustomer.com, …

The Big Apple is getting into merchandising in a big way. The city that never sleeps says it is creating a new Web site to market official NYC products and will expand the number of items available to include everything from snow globes and mouse pads to key chains and golf balls. The items will be available at www.shop4nyc.com, which currently directs uses to the city's existing Internet "store," where only a limited number of items such as coffee mugs and baseball caps are sold. With the new site, the list will get much longer. The plan is part of …

Longtime Super Bowl advertiser Frito-Lay is taking a pass on the big game this year, contending that despite all the hype, running a spot on the game doesn't really pay off. "I have a little calendar page that says: 'Lay's runs Super Bowl ad. Awareness increases by .000004.' So although it gives you enormous bragging rights, the facts are, at the end of the day, it's a very expensive proposition that doesn't give you a terrific payback," said Irene Rosenfeld, the company's CEO. "We've chosen to spend our money elsewhere this year." The move is a telling one, since the …

Good news for e-mail marketers. A new study shows that just about anytime is a good time for e-mail and that consumers accept it as a viable marketing tool. The study was conducted by DoubleClick and also revealed that people easily move back and forth between their work and personal e-mails. Fifty-seven percent said they view their work e-mail during the day while 55 percent view their work e-mail at home in the evening, the study showed, and 54 percent said they read their work e-mail at home over the weekend. Forty-eight percent check their personal e-mail at least occasionally …

The platinum industry is targeting engaged couples with a new marketing strategy based on research that showed the romantic concept of choosing a soul mate has changed. The new effort carries the tagline "Your Love Has Just Gone Platinum" and seeks to convince the soon-to-be-wed that platinum is more desirable than diamonds, the traditional form of wedding jewelry. The campaign is being spearheaded by Platinum Guild International, the U. S. marketing arm of the platinum industry following focus group research in suburban New Jersey, San Francisco, and Chicago. "What we found is that today's engaged-age couple really has a very …