In recent years, social media has our changed the way that global brands communicate with their consumers and evolved into a 2-way conversation. In this new world of Web 2.0, companies must learn to listen and respond to their customers in order maximize their marketing success. Here are some quick examples of what to do and things to avoid:

PepsiMax

Here the Pepsi ran a print ad to showcase their new one-calorie beverage. The ad shows a figure of a calorie, so lonely and alone that he decided to kill himself and commit suicide. After the print ad was run, users of Twitter immediately were discussing the poor taste of the ad and as a result, generating negative publicity for Pepsi. But PepsiMax had been listening to the consumer and immediately cancelled the ad campaign and issued an apology on Twitter.

Nestle

Nestle decided to run a campaign on Facebook to promote a new product line of chocolates. Greenpeace decided to protest Nestle due to its disregard to the environment, and created a massive campaign to create a logo “Killers by Nestle” and bombard the Nestle Facebook wall page.  Nestle responded by deleting all of their comments and responding in a questionable manner. As a result, Nestle faced a consumer backlash because they weren’t listening to their consumers and were not representing their true concerns. Nestle had lost trust with their consumer.

Recommendations: 1) Have a strategy. What social media tool and you using and why? What are your objectives? 2) Have a plan of action. How are you going to implement a social networking marketing campaign? How are you going to sustain it during the long-term? 3) Be prepared for all types of feedback. Social media can amplify both good and bad experiences. Are you prepared to tackle consumer criticism? 4) Understand and respect the norms of Web 2.0. Not doing so can create a consumer backlash and a loss of credibility.

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After analyzing some current trends within the beer industry, here are some key challenges that brands like Budweiser and Coors are now facing in recent months.

1. Distribution wholesalers are consolidating

• Fewer distributors means distributors have more negotiating power with breweries

short-term solutions: negotiate and leverage network

• Evaluate whether maintaining relationship is worth losing the value of the product

long-term solutions: invest in ownership of distribution network

• This way the beer companies can take ownership over prices

2. Commodity prices are increasing for barley

• Brewers across the world are hiking prices to compensate for lower sales volumes

Note : Combined with the strong preference for beer brands, the stronger the product’s equity with the consumer, the greater the ability to pass input- cost increases to the consumer. Since barley is affecting all of the beer brands, they are all likely to increase their prices.

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How the global financial crisis has affected the mindset of the consumer and how this translates to the retail industry

sources: Melanie Fielding “Fashionomics” Apparel, Evan Clark “Retail Stocks Fall Amid Spending Fears” Women’s Wear Daily

The global financial turmoil has created serious challenges to the world of fashion

• Fashion houses are struggling to establish strong trends
• Consumers are beginning to use their disposable income on electronics instead

Fewer travels to the US have hurt luxury flagship stores, which ultimately results in weakened international demand

Historical Economic Crisis’s and its Effect on Fashion

1) At the start of WWII, utility began to dominate most aspects of fashion

• cutting down use of pockets/buttons
• increased use of zippers
• shortening of sleeves/hemlines

2) The stock market crash of 1987 led to an inevitable slowdown in spending

• longer hemlines
• softer female image during the early 90′s

Forecasts for 2009

• clothing trends will be understated and tailored
• there will be more use of machine-machine polyester fabric substitutions
• there will be a stronger emphasis on accessories

Best Practices For Mass Retailers During the Recession

1. capture the shoppers trading down from luxury retailers (ie, J. Crew)
2. create aggressive pricing promotions (ie, Kohl’s)
3. engage consumers with advertising that highlights its national brands (ie, Macy’s)

It is no secret that consumers nowadays are more conscious about every dollar they spend. With regards to the fashion industry, consumers are no longer driven towards the glitz and glamor of seasonal global trends. The spending habits of consumers have shifted towards value. Consumers are gravitated towards making an investment towards a garment that can be worn on several occasions. I suggest the retail merchandisers focus on accessories and cosmetic products to support their businesses. Since accessories and makeup don’t require as much of an investment as a new cocktail dress, consumers can change their look without hurting their wallet.

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As consumers are shifting towards time-shifted programming, this presents an opportunity for non-traditional advertising

Challenges with traditional advertising

• TV users are consuming broadcast and broadband entertainment in new ways
• The numbers of DVR households continue to increase and people are spending more time watching time-shifted programming
• As a result, more people are fast-forwarding through commercials and traditional television advertising is losing its effectiveness
• In tough economic times, clients are more concerned about ROI than ever before

DVR Marketplace

• DVRs are expected to be in 38% of US households by 2010
• TiVo is currently the industry leader

New Advertising Platform: TiVo’s advertising solution

• New clutter-free advertising environment
• Platform with a variety of reach vehicles, ad types, and lengths
• Ability to track viewership of ads on a second-by-second basis

Here I suggest that companies that have limited television budgets look into TiVo advertising as an option. It is much cheaper than traditional television advertising and serves a unique consumer segment. TiVo users have a median household annual income of $93,026, 50% of users have kids 17 and under, and 70% of TiVo users are between 18-49. Moreover, TiVo has the technology to receive feedback as to what consumers have viewed, thus allowing more effective consumer segmentation for advertising options.

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Tracking Trends within the Restaurant Industry and Highlighting the Changes of the American Consumer

Consumer Demographics*

• By 2009, the economic spending power of minorities has tripled from its levels in 1990. This change will influence new food choices and services to reflect their own tastes and lifestyles.
• Recent studies show that one-half of all adults says that their lives are too stressful and desire convenience, easy-going service, and a relaxing environment when choosing restaurants.

Food Preparation*

• The current food trend is towards ultra high quality, authenticity, and convenience at a price that don’t make consumers feel guilty.
• Restaurants are moving away from away from fried-foods as nutrition-conscious consumers have increased.

Finance*

• Restaurant-industry sales are forecast to advance 2.5% in 2009 and equal 4% of the U.S. gross domestic product, and would surpass $930 billion in 2010.
• Americans are spending more money on food service than on home-prepared meals.

As the numbers continue to grow for minority communities within the United States, this creates an opportunity for innovation within the restaurant industry. There is space within the marketplace to develop a franchise that satisfies the consumer need for a more convenient food experience inspired by international cuisine.

I suggest that current restaurants create more of an international feel to its current menu options to take advantage of this growing consumer need. If at all possible, I suggest that franchises look into creating a sub-brands to target specific ethnic communities. And no, Taco Bell doesn’t quite cut it.

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*source: Gregg Cebrzynski. “Examining industry’s trends, Projecting the future” Nation’s Restaurant News; Marvin Centron, Fred DeMicco, John Williams. “Restaurant renaissance” The Futurist

source: Euromonitor

A closer look at the current global fragrance market, upcoming trends and the height of the celebrity fragrance sales

The fragrance market is one of the largest global cosmetics segments

• $30.5 billion in 2006

Past fragrance performance

• declining unit prices
• oversaturation of new products
• low brand loyalty

Emerging Markets

• Latin America and Eastern Eurpoe account for 1/3 of global sales
• Premium fragrances represent 60% global sales, mass market fragrance represent 40% global sales
• The mass market segment is the fastest growing
• Although there has been moves towards masstige and premium fragrances in Latin America, there is a stronger preference for mass market

• Asia-Pacific: less driving force in fragrance market due to different cultural norms in respect to body odor

Developed Markets

• Western Europe and North America are the most significant value markets (60% )

Innovation in fragrance market

• Some companies are creating brands tailored to a particular local markets/ethnic group

No Slump in Celebrity Trend

• The trend currently shows no signs of slowing down
• According to UK based fragrance retailer “The Perfume Shop”, celebrity scents represent 40% of total market and has had a 2000% sales boom since 2004
• Coming years could see the beginning of an inevitable backlash against celebrity scents
• Celebrity brands lack longevity in the market

I feel that mass fragrances will be more of a dynamic segment in upcoming years and will have more of an opportunity for growth. I don’t know how well consumers would react to a Maybelline perfume, but feel that premium fragrances should create sub-brands that fit readily within the mass market. Since consumers have been buying more and more cosmetics products in their drugstores, I feel like a fragrance section within a CVS/Duane Reade with more mass market options will lead to greater sales.

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UPDATE:

I was in Wal-mart over the weekend and saw Mariah Carey’s newest fragrance, “Ultra Pink.” It’s exclusively sold at Wal-mart. It’s fun to spot these trends in the marketplace!

Smart companies have begun to have candidates fill out customized applications online, which gives more control to the employer*

• this translates to dollars savings because HR doesn’t have to start from scratch everytime they begin the process for entry-level hires
• recruiters can pull from a talented pool as necessary

And according to Advertising Age, job recruiters want to learn more about training programs and growth opportunities within a company rather than the glitz and company parties

*Business Week

Powerful brands help companies bring innovation by providing brand loyalists a “low-risk” guarantee to adopt new products.

During time of financial instability, investing in new brands or sub-brands can be perceived as too risky.

Branding is about establishing trust through consistency
• A brand is built by giving customers what they expect
• Innovation is about giving customers what they don’t expect

Balancing Act
• Staying inside the confines of existing brand boundaries can lead to missed opportunities
• Stepping too far outside the brand’s comfort could lead to brand dilution

Tips for Best Practices
1. Don’t Take what customers say too literally
• Transformational innovation is unlikely to come from listening to what loyal customers can articulate about their immediate needs
2. Don’t be overly protective of brand
• Most brands can stretch but the question is whether they can make real-world business sense
3. Don’t think of brand stretch as an all-or-nothing gamble

It is estimated that one third of drugs in the US will be coming off patent in the next five years

• view that loss of market share is inevitable once a drug goes off patent
• generic versions of leading drugs come in and undercut prices, and consequently do little do defend their market position

Some in the PR industry believe that PR could play a greater role in the battle for market share

• only companies willing to take PR seriously are one with blockbuster drugs
• doctors are more wary about using generic medications for certain conditions

I believe strongly that pharmaceutical companies need to focus more on branding. Through additional promotional products that are made available within a doctor’s office, for example, a pharmaceutical brand can build its awareness that can ultimately lead to establishing a relationship with the consumer. Take for instance the video on a pen made by Levitra. The pen had made enough of a connection to the consumer that Levitra now has free branded content on youtube.

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Developer of drug can market drug as a premium product

• PR industry can also run value programs and produce patient information that is not necessarily about the brand but the drug
• pharmaceutical companies can maximize revenue through PR!

(btw- Levitra is for erectile dysfunction. It might help understand the video better)