Train pushed as eco-friendlier option—and environmentalists are conceding the point
Wall Street Journal May 29, 08 8:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Often maligned as noxious-fume-spewing bad citizens, railroad companies are hopping the green train, the Wall Street Journal reports. Campaigns by Norfolk Southern and CSX tout clean-burning diesel engines that "can move a ton of freight 423 miles on a single gallon," and Union Pacific claims diverting 25% of truck freight to trains would prevent 800,000 tons of pollution by 2025.
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Media companies jumping on board as ads have higher success rate than Web versions
Wall Street Journal May 27, 08 3:27 PM CDT
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Text-message advertisements are catching on with marketers, largely because consumers actually ask to receive them—or at least to receive content that ads are attached to, the Wall Street Journal reports. Coors Light, for example, added marketing blurbs to text alerts requested by fans during last month's NFL draft, of which it was a sponsor.
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Clothing seller sees profit up 40% after cutting marketing costs
Advertising Age May 27, 08 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Gap's balance sheet is back in the black, helped along by its decision to stop spending on TV ads, Advertising Age reports. The clothing retailer slashed marketing spending by nearly a fifth in the first quarter and saw profits leap 40%, even as sales slumped. The Gap has switched its focus to merchandising initiatives instead.
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Pediatrician slams
Indy film's
junk food tie-ins
Salon May 21, 08 5:21 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Indiana Jones has a new enemy. Pediatrician Rahul Parikh is irritated about Indy's marketing tie-ins to high-calorie foods like Burger King's "Indy Double Whopper" and Snicker's "Adventure Bar." Parikh has been enjoying the films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for decades, but he's also watching kids grow obese, thanks in part to fatty food marketing, he writes in Salon.
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Some 'Earth-friendly' products are more about marketing than reality
Boston Globe May 15, 08 11:44 AM CDT
(Newser)
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"Green" is in, and many new products being marketed as Earth-friendly are in reality only marginally less unfriendly. The Boston Globe points to hybrid SUVs that get barely better mileage than their standard brethren, water bottles that use less plastic but still require large amounts of energy to make and deliver, and "non-toxic" cleaners that have merely reduced amounts of the same toxins. "It's a marketing exercise rather than reality," says a consumer expert.
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The cable wars turn nasty as telcos fight for a beachhead
Wall Street Journal Apr 28, 08 9:05 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The battle for a larger share of TV customers has taken a nasty turn as companies like Time Warner, DirecTV, and Verizon hone ad campaigns highlighting rivals' shortcomings, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's not the first time operators have taken shots at each other, but it signals a ramping-up of marketing wars as the industry gets more crowded.
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Flying logos don't pollute, either, company says
LiveScience Apr 17, 08 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Forget blimps. A new kind of advertising sends company logos sky-bound in the form of clouds themselves—or almost. “Flogos” are flying, cloud-like shapes created from a soapy mixture pumped up with helium and other gases. The floating messages, sent up by repurposed snow machines, are completely safe, both for the environment and for passing airplanes, the inventor assures LiveScience .
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Campaign uses decade-old image to sell GOP hopeful
Washington Post Apr 12, 08 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain is more than a candidate, he's a brand—and a successful one at that, the Washington Post reports. His image of independence, experience, and, of course, straight talk endures in the public eye and explains why he keeps rising in national polls despite his support for an unpopular war and an unpopular president. Two market research firms described him as a combination of Ford pickup, Wrangler jeans, and Timex.
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Scanning codes with your phone reveals information—for a fee
New York Times Apr 8, 08 2:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A technology that lets European and Asian cellphone users point their phones at bar codes on everything from products to street signs to bring up more information isn’t ready for deployment in the US. At least that’s the indication so far of a trial at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where students have been slow to adopt it, reports the New York Times .
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TRAVEL
Capital ditches 'American Experience' for new tourism slogan
Portfolio Apr 3, 08 8:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
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"The American Experience" hasn't been the come-on Washington officials hoped, Portfolio reports, and DC's tourist board hopes to change that with a new campaign: “Create Your Own Power Trip." With a stumbling economy projected to eat into the US capital's 15 million in annual tourism, the city decided a rebranding was needed to keep up with the competition.
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Golden Arches launches weirdest marketing campaign yet
New York Times Apr 1, 08 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Players had spent days searching for clues to The Lost Ring, an Olympic-themed online mystery game, before uncovering the stunning identity of the game’s shadowy creator: McDonald’s. Golden arches and burgers are nowhere to be seen in the dark contest—instead it’s promoting the Olympics, while “strengthening our bond with the global youth culture,” said McDonald’s marketing chief. “You can’t put an R.O.I. on this.”
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But survey says Microsoft, USA need to revamp marketing
Reuters Mar 31, 08 10:45 AM CDT
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Apple is the world's "most inspiring brand," as well as the one most consumers say they can't live without, according to a new survey on brand impact. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Microsoft was the brand buyers thought most in need of an overhaul—with the United States as runner-up.
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New feature will help marketers direct ads
New York Times Mar 27, 08 12:13 PM CDT
(Newser)
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In what could be a boon to advertisers, a new YouTube feature will allow video makers to see when and where their clips are being watched, reports the New York Times . YouTube Insight will show a map and graph representing the video’s popularity by state and over time--interesting information for casual users, but a boon to marketers hoping to better direct their ads.
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Facing dwindling ranks, scouts hire image expert, plot new pitch
to modern youngsters
Wall Street Journal Mar 25, 08 6:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Girl Scouts of America have hired a chief marketing officer to shake up their image and bolster dwindling membership, Brandweek reports. Laurel Richie helped make Huggies and Kotex into major brands; despite the famous cookies, Scouts number less than 3 million. "How we communicate the brand and how it manifests itself to girls, moms and volunteers is what needs attention," Richie said.
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