The sole of Nike’s new Air Jordan is made with ground-up bits of old Nike sneakers. But the company isn’t selling it as an eco-friendly shoe: That might not be good for business. Nike has an unusual problem. Like many companies, it is trying to make its supply chain and products greener, which brings obvious environmental benefits and, just as important these days, financial ones, too. But while executives at General Electric and Wal-Mart eagerly advertise the eco-conscious changes they’re making, those at Nike choose to play down sustainability initiatives. Nike customers buy shoes to make them feel fast, slick, and hip; they don’t care much about being eco-chic. “Nike has always been about winning,” says Dean Crutchfield, an independent branding consultant in New York. “How is sustainability relevant to its brand?” The lesson for Nike was that its green innovations should continue, but its customers shouldn’t be able to tell. “We want to do more and say less,” is the way Lorrie Vogel, who oversees Nike’s green business practices, puts it.  (more…)

Whoever said mass marketing is dead never worked at McDonald’s. The master of the McBlitz is about to outdo itself with its long-awaited national campaign for its new coffee line, touted as the biggest launch in its history — no small feat for a company that regularly drenches consumers in marketing. ”I assure you that we’re going to be surrounding the consumer with very relevant messaging,” said Neil Golden, chief marketing officer, McDonald’s USA. McDonald’s understands that it faces a quality-perception hurdle with first-time buyers, so it’s focused on “making the product the hero” in TV spots with what Ms. Peleo-Lazar calls “chocolate-cake shots.” McCafe’s African-American and Hispanic campaigns reflect preferences based on consumer insights. African-Americans are more interested in sweeter beverages, while Hispanics tend to be coffee and espresso experts, so they need assurance on quality. In recent years, McDonald’s has been on a roll. Let’s see if they can steamroll the competition in a category where brand loyalty and quality are strong.  (more...)

As proof that every humble product will eventually get its upscale rebranding, Café Bustelo is in the midst of a makeover. As with Pabst Blue Ribbon and Hush Puppies before it, Bustelo’s appeal to the hipster demographic is being seized upon by a company eager to exploit its every last drop of cool. For the last two years, Bustelo has been a fixture at parties and giveaway suites from the Winter Music Conference to Sundance to the Oscars, and the company behind it has been sending truckloads of it to 50 Cent and Perez Hilton. Whenever there is coolsploitation, however, there is potential trouble, and marketing experts say that Café Bustelo’s reboot will not be easy. For one, it has a loyal Hispanic customer base that it can’t afford to alienate. It also faces competition for that urbanite coffee dollar from Goliaths like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. And then there is the danger that Bustelo might not be as hip as its purveyor thinks it is. “Every company tries to be a lifestyle brand now,” said Jonah Disend, the founder of Redscout, a brand strategy firm in New York. “Everybody comes in and goes to the cool places and thinks it will just work. But it can come off as very hollow.” Still, the authenticity of Cafe Bustelo is in its’ favor and I for one am rooting for the brand to chip away at brands with less soul.  (more….)

One of the most important paradigms governing today’s marketing world is the constant drive to better segment a brand’s customer and prospect base. Conventional wisdom says that the better we segment consumers, the better we can market to them. Consumer segmentation is viewed as a “best-in-class” practice across the marketing world. But are we on the right track? (more…)

The right combination of need and product can succeed even in tough times. Hitting the airwaves this fall with cheesy direct advertising and now with a waiting list, the quirky little blanket with sleeves has become the raiment of the zeitgeist, with more than 4 million units sold in just over three months and more than 200 parody videos on YouTube. Fox News honed in on a woman wearing a Snuggie as she braved the cold attending Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20, five days after Ellen DeGeneres donned one on her daytime talk show. Ads tout the Snuggie as a way to cut heating bills and let folks curl up on the sofa with their hands free. With a growing number of consumers hunkering down and looking to save money, two Snuggies and two book lights for $19.95 is starting to look like a pretty good deal. (more…)

Goodbye gherkin, hello tomato. After more than 110 years, H.J. Heinz Co. is giving the tomato top billing on its namesake ketchup and bumping the pickle from the label of one of America’s most iconic brands. In testing, mothers — the target buyers — said having the tomato on the label helped them make the connection with the product’s main ingredient. Mothers want to have more information about the foods they’re serving their families and they want to feel that the foods are natural and wholesome. Lynn Dornblaser, a trend expert for research firm Mintel International, said the tomato image plays into modern, more educated consumers’ desire for a better understanding of what they’re eating, whether for health, safety or just knowledge’s sake. Pickle-lovers, fear not: The tiny gherkin will remain on other Heinz products, including mustard, vinegar and chili sauce. ”It is a part of our company heritage,” Noel Geoffrey director of ketchup for Pittsburgh-based Heinz said. (more…)

Rare roast beef splashed with meaty jus, pork enrobed in luscious crackling fat, perhaps a juicy, plump chicken … these are feasts that come to mind when one thinks of quintessential British food. Lately, however, a new meat is gracing the British table: squirrel. While some have difficulty with the cuteness versus deliciousness ratio — that adorable little face, those itty-bitty claws — many feel that eating squirrel is a way to do something good for the environment while enjoying a unique gastronomical experience. Enter the “Save Our Squirrels” campaign begun in 2006 to rescue Britain’s red squirrels by piquing the nation’s appetite for their marauding North American cousins. With a rallying motto of “Save a red, eat a gray!” the campaign created a market for culled squirrel meat. I’m going to London shortly. Let me think about this…nope.  (more…)

The balloon has been grounded and the bean counters are coming to the baccahanal. Last year at Art Basel Miami Beach, Krug Champagne invited clients to soar over the Everglades in a hot-air balloon, but the high-flying corporate symbol won’t be at the fair that kicks off today. BMW, which has ferried V.I.P. cardholders around Miami for years, pulled out of its sponsorship for 2008. A couple of spinoff fairs have been canceled amid softening sales of contemporary art. Fashion companies, in particular, are backing away from big events. This is quite a change for an extravaganza that has made a name for itself as a Woodstock for the wealthy, a four-day-long affair of partying, wooing, and spending. But with the turmoil in the markets, such extravagance is considered either too pricey or simply in bad taste. For some sponsers, it is a matter of balance. For example, Swiss bank UBS has been the principal sponsor of Art Basel Miami Beach for the past seven years and will be again this year. Peter Dillon, head of UBS’s sponsorship for the Americas, says the bank will make sure it’s “not being frivolous.” However, he points out that UBS won’t downscale too much. “Art Basel is in our DNA,” he says.  (more…)

Some 71% of consumers globally said despite the recession they have given just as much — or more — time and money to causes they deem worthy, according to the second-annual Edelman Goodpurpose study. More than half of the consumers surveyed said even in the throes of a recession they would be prepared to pay more for a brand if it supported a good cause. And more than two-thirds said they would be willing to pay more for eco-friendly products. As the economic situation worsened, the study found brands associated with good causes are highly likely to influence purchase behavior and favorable word-of-mouth. U.S. consumers were twice as likely to find it “very appropriate” for a brand to use its marketing dollars to fund social causes (35%) vs. entertaining campaigns (16%) or brand sponsorships (15%). ”On one hand, [there are] all the realities of the recession and people wanting more value [for their money],” Mitch Markson, president-consumer brands and global creative director at Edelman. “But on the other side, they also want more values in a different way.” When asked to name a brand they associated with a good cause, people most often mentioned Yoplait, Coke, Campbell’s Soup, Newman’s Own and Dove.  (more…)

As economies continues to tighten globally, one trend is emerging to bypass the ups and downs with a new currency– perkonomics. Everybody loves an upgrade, because everybody loves to feel special, to feel important – more important, specifically, than the person sitting behind them. Perkonomics is the icing on the cake of life. Banks, airlines and credit card companies have rewarded loyal customers with goodies for generations, but “perkonomics”, according to the analysts of trendwatching.com – who coined the term – is now a movement: “a new breed of perks and privileges, added to brands’ regular offerings, [and] satisfying consumers’ ever-growing desire for novel forms of status and/or convenience, across all industries.”  (more…)