August 30, 2009 Entry 4

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Maybe change really is sweeping the nation. Heinz has changed the look of the label on its iconic ketchup bottle for the first time since the 1940s, replacing the gherkin below the product's name with a tomato dangling from a vine. The result: a more-healthful perception.

According to Heinz's consumer research, the new 'grown-not-made' label confirms the 'wholesomeness of Heinz tomato ketchup' for 68% of consumers.

"With all due respect to the pickle, which has served Heinz dutifully for 110 years, it's time to shift the focus on the tomato," said Noel Geoffroy, director-Heinz ketchup. According to Heinz's consumer research, Ms. Geoffroy said, the new "Grown not made" label confirms the "wholesomeness of Heinz tomato ketchup" for 68% of consumers.

Heinz is the latest in a slew of marketers in recent weeks to underscore the fruits or vegetables from which their products are derived. Consumers have been recently reminded that Classic Lay'scome from potatoes, that Tostitos are made from corn, and that Tropicana orange juice is 100% orange. According to Mintel International,"natural" was the most common claim made about new food and beverage products launched in 2008, with one in four bearing that distinction.

View article here: http://adage.com/article?article_id=133984

August 30, 2009 Entry 3

How McDonald’s got consumers to fall back in love with burgers

By Clark Turner

When fast food restaurants are being labelled in the press as the main culprits for rising obesity in the UK, to step into the top marketing job at McDonald’s is something many would run from.

But for Jill McDonald (pictured) it was a challenge she couldn’t say no to. Turning around the chain with a radical overhaul, she has helped deliver eight successive quarters of positive sales. Her efforts were recognised recently when she won the Marketing Society’s Marketer of the Year Award.

Jill’s transformation of McDonald’s began in 2006 after she joined from a top marketing role at British Airways. During 16 years with the airline she climbed to the top position as Global Marketing and In-Flight Business with responsibilities spanning global advertising, sponsorship, design, research, in-flight retail, entertainment and employee engagement.

“I’d done every marketing job going with BA and was at the top so needed to move on to progress my career,” she explained to UTalkMarketing. “McDonald’s is one of the world’s biggest brands and having gone through some difficult times and after meeting the inspiring team, it was too good an opportunity to miss.”

How can McDonald's take their marketing strategies in the UK and use them in the US?

visit entire article here: http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=11135&Title=How_McDonald’s_got_consumers_to_fall_back_in_love_with_burgers

August 25, 2009 Entry 2

A-B InBev Wants Bud to Go Global, With Coke as a Model

DDB Tapped to Lead Worldwide Effort to Craft Singular Message for Iconic Brand

Posted by Jeremy Mullman on 08.25.09 @ 04:55 PM

       

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Anheuser-Busch InBev has named Omnicom Group's DDB lead global ad agency for its iconic U.S. beer brand Budweiser, with an eye toward transforming it into a global player much like another iconic beverage, Coca-Cola.

DDB, which has handled the "King of Beers" in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, will introduce Budweiser into potentially dozens of new markets around the world, as well as create new ad programs for markets where the brand already is available. In some cases, DDB's broad marketing programs and messages will be tailored to local markets by local brand teams and agencies. (Local agency assignments for Budweiser will not be affected by the move.)

While Budweiser already has a major presence in the U.S., China, Canada and the U.K. and is available to some extent in about 80 markets worldwide, the brand is scarce in large swaths of the globe, such as Africa.

How will Budweiser move away from their brand as the "great American Lager" to a brand that can be more globally recognized?

See full article here:http://adage.com/globalnews/article?article_id=138648

August 25, 2009 Entry 1

Kellogg Eyeing Agency Roster Cut From 30 Shops to Five

Companywide Push Led by Procurement Division

Posted by Jeremy Mullman on 08.25.09 @ 06:31 PM

       

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Kellogg Co. is the latest major marketer to seek to consolidate its ad agency roster during the downturn.

The breakfast behemoth is hardly alone in looking to slash shops from its roster, as marketers such as Anheuser-Busch, Bayer and Emirates Airlines have all done so this year in bids to control costs and, in some cases, to clarify marketing messages by having fewer cooks concoct them.

The Kellogg effort, known internally as "Project Silver," is part of a companywide push led by its procurement division to control costs and designate "preferred vendors," according to people familiar with the matter.

One executive said the company is looking to cut the number of ad agencies with which it works to possibly as few as five or six, down from the 30-plus it works with currently.

See full article here: http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=138654