Marketers need to revise the way they create their “brand scorecards” so that their chief financial officers can understand them and realize the true value of marketing expenditures.  That’s one of the key messages in Marketing by the Dashboard Light--How to Get More Insight, Foresight, and Accountability from Your Marketing Investments by Patrick LaPointe, managing partner of marketing consultancy MarketingNPV in Princeton, N.J.  In this excerpt from his book, LaPointe argues that the problem with current brand scorecards is that not enough marketers utilize them and when they do, they don’t take them far enough. The traditional scorecard model …

It's every marketer's dream to have a product that generates so much buzz and free press that it becomes the hottest item on the street. That's what happened last year with Ugg boots, those fuzzy-on-the-inside but smooth-on-the-outside sheepskin boots that even scored a coveted thumbs-up from Oprah. But as everyone knows, the marketplace is fickle and tastes change rapidly. This year, Uggs have fallen out of favor among the media and fashionistas, which of course has led to a marketing problem for the company that makes them, Deckers Outdoor Corp. In response, Deckers is introducing a slew of new Uggs …

The nation's largest brewer wants everyone to know that moderate consumption of beer carries just as many health benefits as wine and has enlisted the aid of a Harvard epidemiologist to make its point. Dr. Meir Stampfer, known as the "rock star" of alcoholic beverage research, is playing a key role in the brewer's effort to publicize the health benefits of beer consumption by delivering lectures to groups of medical journalists. Dr. Stampfer's credentials on the issue are nothing short of stellar. He is the author of more than 50 research papers measuring the health implications of moderate drinking, which …

One of the biggest soft drink marketers in the world, Coca-Cola Co., wants people to know it sells more than just soda pop. The company announced a new, two-pronged marketing effort that comes in the wake of weak soda sales and mounting criticism that its beverages contribute to obesity. One part of the effort includes a new global ad slogan and the other is a corporate effort designed to remind consumers that Coke also sells a myriad of food products. The new slogan, "Welcome to the Coke side of life," will be the centerpiece of a global marketing campaign slated …

More than a dozen top packaged good marketers will reportedly use controversial "spy chips" to track promotional displays in Walgreens' 5,000 outlets. The marketers were not identified but are believed to include Procter & Gamble Co. and Altria Group's Kraft Foods. The new program calls for using RFID chips to electronically track when, how long and where displays are placed in stores. That allows marketers to track results of promotions by store or demographic cluster. It also lets participating manufacturers time local, regional or national advertising according to when displays are in place and send representatives to stores that haven't …

Ford Motor Co.’s spin doctors are working overtime in the wake of reports that the automaker cancelled advertising in gay-oriented publications under threat of a product boycott from a conservative organization. A Ford spokesman confirmed that the company’s Jaguar and Land Rover brands will no longer advertise in publications such as The Advocate, a move that has gay and lesbian groups up in arms.  However, the spokesman denied that the change was sparked by complaints from the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association. The spokesman acknowledged that Ford had recently met with AFA representatives but said that was because local …

Marketers trying to position themselves as being environmentally friendly are quickly learning what Kermit the Frog knew all along: It isn’t easy being green.  In a lengthy, well-reported article, CMO Magazine cites examples of several companies’ environmental efforts gone awry, such as Ford Motor’s placing a “living roof” on one of its factories and then advertising the effort in a magazine. The move backfired when environmentalist groups accused the company of trying to advertise its way to a greener image. Other examples abound, and the message is that declining consumer confidence has made consumers cynical.  So if companies want …

Hot Wheels has launched an interactive promotion at New York City's FAO Schwarz store that lets kids design a car with touch screen technology. Using the Hot Wheels Custom Car Factory Kiosk application, kids can create a customized car for $20 that comes complete with the customer's name, a registration number and certificate of authenticity. The kiosks, with technology developed by touch screen manufacturer Planar, operate only in the Manhattan FAO Schwarz store. "The ability to customize something is very nice," said Rob Baumgartner, director of operations and marketing for Planar. "It gets you more involved [with the product]. It's …

Marketers who advertise on TV know all about costs for 30-second spots, and print advertisers assiduously study rate cars and CPMs. But how about CPKs? That acronym stands for "cost-per-keyword," and it's becoming a new buzzword for marketers who advertise online. Search engine marketing has skyrocketed and it has advertisers everywhere asking how much they should pay for a keyword. DoubleClick's "Search Trend Report: Q3 2005" found that the average CPK as well as the average CPC (cost per click) showed steady increases throughout the third quarter, with the CPK rising from $20 to $26. The SEMphonic Keyword Pricing Index …

In yet another sign that phone and cable companies are now vying for the same customers, BellSouth Corp. said today it will test a new Web-based TV service with its Atlanta-based customers this summer. Though it has yet to be fully realized, Web TV has been generally considered to be the next step for cable companies, though the digital broadband revolution makes these opportunities available to anybody. Cable providers have already moved into phone company turf by offering Internet-based phone services for less than the cost of traditional phones. BellSouth rivals Verizon Communications and AT&T have also rolled out Web …