March 1, 2001
Feature Stories
90 Days to a Better Brand
health clubs around the nation will see memberships increase this month as millions of Americans begin running, lifting, and climbing stair after stair...
Is Promotion a Dirty Word?
What do you do when the new neighbor asks about your occupation? Confess it: You tell them you work in advertising. It's easier, it's sexier, and it doesn't...
Value Ads
It's ironic, really, to see an image ad for Happy Meals. McDonald's turned up the emotional volume on Happy Meal ads last month, breaking its most extensive...
Reviving the couch potato
In the early 1990s, before the Internet explosion, pundits heralded interactive television, or ITV, as the new media gateway to the Great Unwashed. Greater...
smoke.com
You've got a long way to go, baby. Legal and tax challenges have hit the booming online tobacco business as states seek to limit direct cigarette sales...
Casting away
Mention and people often conjure up images of pimply teens huddled around PC screens to watch shaky, robotic pictures of rock concerts that black out...
Editor's Note
Covers and Uncovers
This wasn't planned as a swear word-and-swimsuit issue. It just happened that way. Yes, senior editor Betsy Spethmann was the first one who said dirty...
Deals
Spinning a Licensing Web
Having scored its first major licensing success through last spring's X-Men, New York City-based Marvel Enterprises is gaining even greater licensing...
ACQUISITIONS
PICKLE OF A DEAL H.J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, PA, acquired the Vlasic pickle and Open Pit barbecue brands for $195 million from Cherry Hill, NJ-based Vlasic...
Consumers
Connecting to Kids
Paper routes must be a lot more lucrative these days. According to Census Bureau figures, kids 19 or younger account for about 79 million, or 29 percent,...
Bottoms Up
Americans say they're hitting the bottle more often than they should, according to a Gallup Poll. Sixty-four percent of Americans say they drink alcoholic...
Fallen Faith
In just five years, Hispanics are expected to overtake blacks as the largest ethnic group in the U.S. and, as such, their religious choices will influence...
Channels
FULFILLMENT: We Deliver
When brand managers sliced distribution of coupons, samples, premiums, and direct-mail in a move toward target marketing in the mid-1990s, suppliers moisturized...
That's an Order
The majority of catalog companies use in-house shipping centers to handle fulfillment to customers. According to the new Leader Perspectives survey conducted...
Walking the Tight Rope
Rebates have always been a double-edged sword. They can stimulate sales on high-cost, slow-moving products, but can dilute brand equity and cut into profits...
Marketers
Fast Breaking
Glitzy professional sporting events such as the Super Bowl may get the big bucks when it comes to tie-ins, but nothing beats the annual NCAA college basketball...
Green Day
As the adage states, you don't need to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. That message has been accepted wholeheartedly by alcohol brands, many...
Agencies
Burger King Enlists DraftWorldwide
Burger King this month will break the first work from its new promotion agency of record, Chicago-based DraftWorldwide. The QSR giant selected Draft to...
And the Winners Will Be
The Promotion Marketing Association, New York City, last month unveiled the list of finalists for its 18th annual Reggies, one of the premier awards programs...
Hot Properties
Reading Fundamentals
Finding money for marketing has always been a tough task in the adult book market. High costs associated with author advances, production, and distribution...
Overseas
Stocking Up on Canada Dry
Online broker E* Trade and Cadbury-Schweppes brand Canada Dry teamed up this winter to create a high-impact promotion leveraging the popularity of online...
People
AGENCY MOVES
R+D Advertising, Boston, MA, named Greg Robertson creative director, John Murphy senior art director, Julie Banks production and traffic director, Ryan...
Client Side
New York City-based Triarc Companies, Inc. promoted Michael Howe to president and ceo of the Triarc Restaurant Group. He succeeds Jonathan May, who will...
MARKETING SERVICES
SimStar Internet Solutions, Princeton, NJ, named Lawrence Hudson vp of e-business and Linda Aragona director-project management. Mark Nathanson tapped...
ACCOUNT ACTION
Woolf Associates, Boston, MA, retained as sales agency for the Hyannis Port Challenge. New York City-based Loews Cineplex Entertainment tapped MarketSource...
Articles
Ogre Orgy
DreamWorks, Glendale, CA, this spring unleashes its largest promotional slate ever with a multi-partner package for Shrek, a CGI tale about the adventures...
The Other Lawsuit
Pork producers are fighting in court to keep a $51.4 million marketing program that the U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to scrap. Producers won a...
The Razor's Edge
Is your marketing plan built on efficiency? Is every tactic well-timed with a projected positive return? Are the coupon values optimized to maximize redemption...
Evaluating Sponsorships
These days, the big challenge for marketers appears to be the need to create sponsorship programs that are that is, programs that are relevant to and...
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY PRODUCTS
Lock and Load The new Gear Lock from Montgomery, AL-based Abstrac Products is perfect for school lockers, backpacks, key-chains, skis, and more. The item...
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY TOOLS
Beyond the Cash Register Tired of emptying pockets of worthless receipts at the end of the day? Start-up ReceiptsToRiches.com offers the chance to convert...
One Short Month to Brand Ruin
Too tired, busy, self-satisfied, or disinterested to read our lengthy feature story, Ninety Days to a Better Brand? Here's a slightly different version,...
