Swatch Group's Omega watch line grabbed market share from Rolex in the $35 billion Swiss watch industry last year, analysts say -- a reflection of both price and design. Rolex's cheapest model is almost 60% more expensive than Omega's, Tom Mulier reports from Geneva, and, as one 30-year-old Chinese businessman told him: "Omega's designs are newer and trendier. Rolex is old and traditional." Swatch has 17 other brands, from the $50 plastic Swatches to and Breguet timepieces that fetch $700,000. Omega's 2008 sales were about 1.48 billion Swiss francs, estimates Bank Vontobel analyst Rene Weber, compared with Rolex' …

Here's one we can say we didn't see coming: According to William Higham, who runs future trends and consumer research consultancy The Next Big Thing, many adolescents today are acting in ways we might expect middle-age Americans to do. Another insight -- that older consumers are maintaining their "adolescent" interests, outlooks and behaviors into middle age -- is less shocking. Higham says he's talking to clients about making radical changes in how they target both older and younger customers. He writes that today's anxiety-prone teens tend to retreat behind barriers rather than seek to break them …

McDonald's executives and Coca-Cola executives are trying to convince franchisees that selling fountain drinks for $1 this summer, regardless of the size, will make their outlets a destination for thirsty consumers, Paul Ziobro reports. Franchisees in most markets sold large sweet tea for $1 last year, but headquarters is pushing for more drinks in more markets and also wants the promotion to run 150 days instead of the 100 days in prior years, sources say. A McDonald's spokeswoman says more than 90% of U.S. restaurants sold drinks for $1 last summer, which "should give you an indication of …

To be successful in the global marketplace, companies must build marketing organizations with the proper structure, mindset and operating behaviors in order to achieve a balance between local and global initiatives, writes Marc de Swaan Arons, the chairman of marketing consultancy EffectiveBrands. He identifies five drivers of global marketing effectiveness. First, connect. Key local teams need to know and believe that their market's success drives the global team's work, he says. Second, inspire. Global brand leaders must identify a universal insight and ignite and nurture an internal passion for it. Third, focus. The new Coors Light global leadership …

Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald has a simple goal: Increase the average $12 per year that every adult consumer worldwide spends to buy his company's products to $14 within five years. The best way to do that, he figures, is not to get you to buy more Charmin but rather to increase his base by a billion or so customers who are primarily in developing nations, he tells Bruce Horovitz in a two-hour exclusive interview. "We know we need to ramp up our innovative efforts to get to all of the world's consumers -- not just to the …