According to Ad Age, Coca-Cola is looking to save between $400 million and $500 million a year by the end of 2011. And it's looking to find some of those savings in marketing. According to The Wall Street Journal, General Motors, the nation's fourth largest advertiser—they spent $2.1 billion last year—will also be making deep cuts. GM cut their ad spend by 24% from 2005 to 2006, and another 7.7% from 2006 to …
Bad News
I didn't do well in economics and I don't claim to know much about abstractions like "the economy," but I do know how to read a newspaper. People have been trying to find the right words for what's going in America today: slowdown, recession, depression. When people line up outside their bank, praying that they will be able to withdraw their money, we're in a depression bind. No, it's nothing like 1929. Not yet. …
Green Energy Firms Need Conscious Communicators
In the past few months, just about every major company in the semiconductor business has joined a rush into the solar industry, paving the way for what observers predict will be cheaper, better and more efficient equipment for both consumers and businesses. Mark Pinto of Applied Materials According to The Austin American-Statesman, worldwide installations of photovoltaic equipment sales soared by 60 percent last …
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“Reply All” Catches A Rat
In today's "Sunday Business" section I came across an appalling piece on the mortgage crisis. Particularly off-putting is an email communication from Countrywide's co-founder and CEO, Angelo Mozilo. Mozilo responded, by mistake, to a mortgage holder in turmoil, who had asked for his help. “This is unbelievable. Most of these letters now have the same wording. Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or …
Not A Good Time To Be On A Car Account
The Bush administration's economic stimulus package is far from enough to drive Americans into their local car and truck dealer. June's sales numbers, compared to June 2007 are horrible and a sign of a seriously weakened economy. According to The Wall Street Journal, American consumers long enamored with trucks and SUVs are now looking for fuel-efficient cars. Sales of Ford's SUVs fell 55%, and its formerly …
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A Purchase Is A Purchase
According to BusinessWeek, the type of purchases one makes with a credit card can determine one's credit score. The FTC suit against Atlanta-based CompuCredit for allegedly "deceptive" marketing practices offers a rare look inside the opaque business of credit scoring. It reveals a mechanism that consumer advocates and politicians have long suspected exists—one in which purchasing behavior, not just payment history, …
No Money? Travel Anyway.
Don't let the economy quash your vacation plans. That's the message coming from several destinations, as consumers face inflationary prices at every turn. Stuart Elliott of The New York Times points to Las Vegas, Panama City Beach, Orlando and other cities that are stepping off their brand messaging platforms in favor of price promotions. “ ‘What happens here stays here’ is being given a rest,” said Rob Dondero, …
Say, Can I Have Some Purple Berries? Yes, I’ve Been Eating Them For Six Or Seven Weeks Now. Probably Keep Us Both Alive.
Earlier this week Kraft - which makes its namesake cheese singles, Philadelphia cream cheese and Oscar Mayer meats - posted a 13% drop in first- quarter net income amid surging costs for dairy, wheat and other commodities. According to Dow Jones, food manufacturers like Kraft Foods are blaming ethanol producers for cost increases. Kraft's Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld has been in Washington in recent weeks to talk …
