Steve Ellwanger

Articles by Steve All articles by Steve

• Lessons From A CPG Startup: Hakuna Brands' Hannah Hong in CPG FYI on 11/15/2019
  

  Hong shares some insights on startup funding, product development, strategy and retail distribution.

• Subway, Other Brands Testing Feature-Rich RCS Texting in Marketing Daily on 11/14/2019
  

  "The RCS-driven improvements would be the equivalent of chat bot-like functionality, where engagement between brand and consumer becomes dynamic," says agency exec.

• Popcorn Factory Launches 'Cards With Pop' (Corn) in Marketing Daily on 11/13/2019
  

  1-800-FLOWERS.COM is encouraging people to think beyond just floral arrangements for holidays and other gifting occasions.

• Chipotle Turnaround In Full Gear After Food Safety Issues in Marketing Daily on 11/12/2019
  

  Credit goes to a new CEO, a complete overhaul of how the chain sources and handles food, and marketing that emphasizes ingredients and preparation.

• ShopRite Rebrands Private-Label Food, Household Products in Marketing Daily on 11/11/2019
  

  Two campaigns that broke today introduce the new Paperbird brand for household goods and Bowl & Basket for food products.

• Beverage Round-Up: Flavored Milk Tops Number Of Product Launches in CPG FYI on 11/08/2019
  

  Analyst Tom Vierhile walks CPG FYI through the maze of new milk iterations and touches on how coffee "has become like Silly Putty."

• The Future Of Restaurants? Tech-Driven -- And Complicated in Marketing Daily on 11/07/2019
  

  Report: "The off-premises market - carryout, delivery, drive-thru and mobile units - is where the majority of industry growth is going to come from."

• Pepsi QR Code Promotion Encourages Gifting Cash Winnings in Marketing Daily on 11/06/2019
  

  Gift it Forward with Pepsi" encourages consumers to scan codes on a variety of Pepsi-branded beverage packages.

• Cold Beverages Help Perk Up Starbucks' U.S. Sales Growth in Marketing Daily on 11/05/2019
  

  The company posted comparable-store sales growth of 6% in its recently ended fourth quarter, the best performance in more than two years.

• New Panera AR Ad Unit Lets Customers 'Play With' Their Food in Marketing Daily on 11/04/2019
  

  Mobile users can manipulate a Mediterranean Egg White Breakfast Wrap to see its ingredients and their nutritional value.

Comments by Steve All comments by Steve

• Obit: MRI Co-Founder Alain Tessier, Dead At 85 by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 09/04/2018)
  

  Alain essentially helped me go into business when MRI became one of my first clients in 1997. I am blessed to still represent GfK MRI but Alain was one of a kind and he will be dearly missed. Such a class act.

• Star-Spangled Speaking: Sarah Palin, Unplugged by Barbara Lippert (Mad Blog on 01/21/2016)
  

  Romans got bread and circuses to distract them. Don't know about the bread but we sure do get circuses.

• FTC Says Native Ads Must Carry Clear Disclosures by Wendy Davis (Daily Online Examiner on 12/22/2015)
  

  Okay, this might be overly simplistic, but if we just went back and called all of them "advertorials" wouldn't the world be safe again? Publishers get revenue, consumers aren't fooled.  Life would proceed as before. 

• What A Great Time To Remind You That Football is Stupid by George Simpson (Online Media Daily on 01/30/2015)
  

  I think you nailed the issue with the "controlled" gladiator. Because there are rules to football, its violent nature--people continually and purposely crashing into each other, and doing so voluntarily--and its attendant consequences can be overlooked in the spirit of the game. If all high school kids were forced to play football and endure the intense physicality, you might have more people in your end zone with this column.

• What Happened in Vegas? by Stan Mack (Real MAD on 01/19/2015)
  

  Wearable drones...

• Longtime 'NYT' Ad Columnist Stuart Elliott Retires, Successor TBD by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 12/03/2014)
  

  Can't say enough good things about Stuart. Class act, great guy.

• Comedians Fighting For Control In Cars: Is Jerry Seinfeld Hyper-Aware? by Barbara Lippert (Mad Blog on 11/20/2014)
  

  Barb: Thanks for this review. I will check out the interview with SJP. Watched the first few of Seinfeld's Coffee videos and didn't go back because Jerry would often cackle ceaselessly about things that were not remotely funny. Wonder if I'm the only one who thought that.

• The Few, The Proud, The Uber by Barbara Lippert (Mad Blog on 08/28/2014)
  

  Without taking sides here, the Boston Globe recently did a fantastic three-part investigative series on the taxi industry in Boston. Drivers working for slave wages while the person who owns the majority of the city's medallions made millions, had dubious insurance for his cars, fruitless lawsuits by people involved in accidents with those cars, a complete mess. The police department was supposed to be preventing all of this but it wasn't. The mayor and various pols vowed to create a commission to investigate and change things. Of course, this has yet to happen... http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/03/30/spotlight/9eVWW7Y6RaOIqII62n2XlI/story.html

• Viagra In An Age Of Sarcasm by Barbara Lippert (Mad Blog on 07/30/2014)
  

  Fun indeed that a potential side effect (four-hour erection) becomes a main selling point for the product. But side effect warnings in ads have become nearly comical: "Don't use this product if you walk on two legs, breathe through your nose, have more than nine toes, shower in an upright position..."

• Counting Counts: Six Reasons Everyone Must Read Erwin Ephron's Book 'Media Planning' by Dave Morgan (Online Spin on 01/02/2014)
  

  I believe all archival content from IM became the property of MediaWeek back in 1997, when "online" consisted of AOL. It might exist somewhere on a floppy disc that no one can decipher now...

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