Clorox released second quarter earnings guidance today and the results were not good. Clorox also announced that it was taking a goodwill impairment charge of about $250 million due to the Burt’s Bees acquisition. The Clorox press release quoted CFO Dan Heinrich stating, “The Burt’s Bees business remains a very solid contributor to Clorox’s results, with […]
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that financial giant UBS is out with a new dress code for its Swiss employees. You can read the article here: https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576019783931381042.html The UBS code is rather impressive; it is 44 pages long and includes lots of advice on dress and person hygiene. It document reviews how to […]
This week Seattle’s Best coffee has been in the news; the brand is rolling out a new simplified packaging system. Seattle’s Best is adopting a new level system, featuring different coffee blends at different amounts of intensity. The move is all part of an effort to reinvigorate the Seattle’s Best brand and, perhaps more importantly, […]
We’ve all learned a lot about brands and crisis management in recent months. First, even the best brands can run into major issues. Toyota, one of the world’s most admired companies, took a huge hit as stories surfaced about potential safety and quality issues earlier this year. BP and J&J have taken hits, too. Second, […]
More and more stores are opening on Thanksgiving Day. For many years almost every retailer closed on the holiday. Then a few started opening on Thanksgiving. This year the trend is clearly accelerating: Sears, Kmart, Gap, Walmart and Old Navy all will be opening at least some of their stores. Is this a good idea? Personally, I […]
This week Sears Holdings released quarterly results. The latest numbers suggest that the company hasn’t managed to slow the declines at Sears. Overall results for Sears Holdings were poor, with revenue for the quarter ending October 30 down 5% from $10.2 billion in 2009 to $9.7 billion this year. The company lost -$215 million this […]
This week Sara Lee announced that it was selling its bread business to Mexico-based baking giant Grupo Bimbo, for $959 million. The sale is an embarrassment for Sara Lee. According to the Financial Times, Sara Lee acquired the baking unit in 2001 when it bought Earthgrains Corporation for $2.8 billion, making this a fine example […]
Chevrolet is out with its long-awaited new advertising effort; the campaign began running at the end of October. The effort is apparently the work of Chevy’s new advertising agency, Gooby, Silverstein & Partners, and head of marketing, Chris Perry. You can see the TV spots here: https://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/27/the-why-behind-chevy-runs-deep-slogan/ So how is the new campaign? I’ll begin with […]
Things are getting rather nasty in the political world. As we approach Election Day in the United States, candidates are spending incredible amounts of money, much of it on negative advertising. One of my favorite examples is from Illinois senatorial candidate Alexi Giannoulias. He is airing a spot this week that calls his opponent Mark Kirk a dishonest liar. The […]
Microsoft is currently running a teaser spot for its new mobile software, Windows Phone 7. The ad is charming; the folks at Microsoft have clearly found an insight that will resonate with people. The big question, of course, is whether Microsoft can turn the insight into a meaningful product benefit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHlN21ebeak In the new spot, Microsoft highlights a […]
This week Gap introduced and then promptly pulled a new visual identity. The new logo was a rather dramatic change and consumers quickly expressed their unhappiness with the new look. Gap reversed course in just three days. The company announced the decision on its Facebook page: “Ok. We’ve heard loud and clear that you don’t […]
In my marketing strategy course at Kellogg I periodically ask students to review different marketing initiatives. The goal is to evaluate each initiative from a strategic point of view. Will it build the brand and build the business? After showing an initiative to the class, I ask students to grade it: A, B, C, D or F. […]