Only 13% of senior marketers say that they're "very satisfied" with their companies' marketing structures, according to a survey of 132 executives conducted by research firm Guideline in October 2007 released by the Association of National Advertisers yesterday. The results are jarring considering the fact that reorganization has become something of a way of life at most companies. Nearly one-third (29%) of marketers are undergoing reorganization and another 39% have done so within the past two years. Remarkably, fewer than half (48%) of respondents said structural changes to marketing had actually improved their companies' marketing abilities during …

Miller Brewing is launching Miller High Life Extras, a points-based loyalty program that rewards consumers who are "living the high life." Consumers earn points by purchasing specially marked 12-packs or 30-packs of Miller High Life and Miller High Life Light. Each bottle or can is worth 10 points. By uploading point codes at MillerHighLife.com, consumers can receive merchandise ranging from High Life screen savers (worth 60 points) to branded fire pits used for campfires (worth 31,000 points). Other merchandise includes a Miller High Life deliveryman shirt, boxer shorts, a hooded sweatshirt and baseball caps. Previous beer promotions by …

GM will introduce a new high-efficiency lithium-ion battery on one of its North American models in 2010, and plans to use it in a new generation of hybrid vehicles it will sell around the world. The vehicles will use 15% to 20% less fuel than comparable non-hybrid models and will include vehicles powered by biofuels and turbodiesels, says Dan Hancock, GM's vp of global hybrid engineering. The new batteries provide 33% more power, but take up 24% less space and weigh 40% less than the nickel-metal hydride batteries in the first generation of GM's hybrids--the Saturn Aura and Vue …

The eight brands in General Motor's portfolio often compete with each other--both for customers and a slice of GM's marketing budget. The automaker's strategy of populating many of its divisions with vehicles that look alike largely for the sake of maintaining each brand's market share amounts to "robbing Peter to pay Paul," says the owner of both a GM and Saturn dealership. For example, GM has four mass-market midsize sedans. The Chevy Malibu is backed by a ubiquitous ad campaign and is a top-seller. Meanwhile, the Buick LaCrosse, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura have struggled to build …

Jamie Leventhal told a buyer for Target last year that he was spending nothing to advertise his new shaving gel targeted to 18-to-24 year old men. Then he showed a prototype of NXT, which is packaged in an arresting triangular container that lights up from the bottom, illuminating air bubbles suspended in the clear gel. Every 15 seconds, a light-emitting diode (LED) in the bottom of the container flares on, stays lighted for a few seconds, then fades out. The novelty of the light-up container worked. NXT's shaving gel--as well as similarly packaged after-shave and face wash--will hit the shelves …

XanGo founder Joe Morton has built a huge multilevel-marketing company around its mangosteen-based juice, which it promotes as an immunity booster. Morton was on a business trip in Malaysia when he saw mangosteen, a white delicacy wrapped in a blood-red leathery shell, on the dessert menu. From that introduction, Morton and his partners have capitalized on a new brand category of liquid "super-fruits" that is "doing gangbusters," says Jeff Hilton, a partner at Integrated Marketing Group, a branding and packaging consulting firm. XanGo still hasn't proved mangosteen's health benefits--which it says could improve joint function--to skeptical experts. "It's …

Billionaire Sam Zell, who has taken over the Tribune Co., is expected to not only sell the Chicago Cubs but also its fabled home, which was named Wrigley Field in 1926 for club owner William Wrigley. The sale of the park with the ivy-covered brick walls will probably be a separate transaction than the sale of the team. What really has some people angry is that Zell is also considering selling the naming rights to the second-oldest ballpark in the majors, dating back to 1914. He stirred up the fans and media last week when--during an interview with CNBC--he …